WHILST his Swindon Town team-mates wrap-up warm as winter maintains an icy grip on these shores, Yaser Kasim has no qualms rubbing it in with a few more pictures of pristine Australian beaches.

The Town midfielder is currently down under as he prepares for Iraq’s Asian Cup campaign but has still had plenty of contact with his County Ground colleagues, taking particular care to remind them just how much he’s been enjoying the Aussie sunshine.

“I’ve been talking to them all the time, just like normal,” Kasim told the Advertiser.

“I’ve been speaking to Nathan Thompson to see how his injury is and I’ve also been chatting to Jon (Obika), which has mostly been a bit of banter; Byrney (Nathan Byrne) too. I’ve made sure that I’ve sent them plenty of pictures when I’ve been to the beach.

“We went top of the league but I’d rather we’d have won the game (against Fleetwood Town last weekend). But I heard that we were 2-0 down, so it’s still good.

“Myself and Mass (Luongo) are away but we’ve got plenty of players who can come into the team and things are going well.

“We’re playing really good football and I think all the players are doing well with the work that Luke Williams does – he pushes you to improve and I think we’ve all adapted to how we’re playing.

“Things can always change quickly in football but when you’re away from something, you start to miss it and I’m looking forward to getting back to Swindon.”

Iraq, who will also take on Japan and Palestine in Group D, start their Asian Cup bid against Jordan at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Monday (kick-off 10am UK time).

Kasim’s national side won the 2007 tournament, beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final in Indonesia, and the Swindon star, 23, reckons that the Lions of Mesopotamia have what it takes to do it all over again.

“The new manager (Radhi Shanaishil) has implemented his style since he’s come in and I compare it to Swindon because it’s all about passing the ball around too,” Kasim said.

“It’s my first major tournament, so let’s see how it pans out.

“We played a warm-up match against Iran on Sunday and only lost 1-0 when we deserved to win – I think we can do well.

“If I can come back with a winner’s medal, it will have been a good first month of the year.”