Saturday, September 9 2006 11:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Sydney: Australian Tom Moody says it is firmly his intention to honour his contract as Sri Lanka's cricket coach despite warnings about the safety of foreign nationals on the strife-torn island.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website has issued warnings of the kidnapping of foreign nationals for ransom in Sri Lanka following an upsurge in violence.

Moody, who is considered a leading candidate to succeed John Buchanan as Australia's head coach after next year's World Cup, is preparing Sri Lanka for next month's ICC Champions' Trophy in India.

Sri Lanka has suffered an upsurge in bloodshed since December that has left more than 1,500 people dead by official count.

The island's three-decade-old separatist ethnic conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

"It has not got to the point where it has stopped me from thinking about doing my job," Moody tells sources.

"When you're out of the country it probably appears a bigger deal and more of an issue than it is to the people who are here."

"The Sri Lankan people have grown relatively immune to these kind of things."

"It's not as though the people are daring not to venture outside. There has been a significant increase in the military and police presence, which is comforting. In a way, I'm becoming immune, too."

Last month South Africa pulled out of the limited-overs tri-series against India and hosts Sri Lanka citing security concerns after a deadly bombing in Colombo's popular Pettah markets.

"I think there has to be a realisation that in this day and age, no matter whether you're in London, Sydney or Colombo, you have to be mindful of the unpleasant possibility of terrorist action," Moody says.

Last July Sri Lanka, under Moody, fought back after going 1-0 down in the Test series against England to level at 1-1 and then reeled off six straight wins against England in 20-20 and one-day cricket to finish off their tour.

"Things had been very good. We took a lot of confidence out of the England series. From a team and an individual point of view, the build-up over the last six months has been really pleasing," Moody, says.

"This is something we have worked hard at. It's certainly not something that happened overnight. This has been 14 months in the making," he says.

"(South Africa's withdrawal) was frustrating from the viewpoint of momentum."

"The more wins we could have got under the belt, the better. But with the bad comes the good. It has given us the opportunity to rest our guys, and gives those with a few niggles time to recover."