Coach Rajevac has three games to save his Thailand job

The Serbian coach along with his team are now already in the Middle Eastern country to prepare for continental competition where Thailand will take on India in group A on Sunday.

Rajevac is trying to redeem his pride after hus side failed to defend their title in the AFF Championship, losing to Malaysia in the semi-finals on away goal rules. Thailand must reach the round of 16 or the coach will part with the team, according to Football Association of Thailand chief Somyot Poompanmoung.

Thailand has been drawn in the same group with India, Bahrain and the UAE. Only top two teams from each of the six groups plus four best third placed teams will progress into the last 16.

“We are going to play in the best competition in Asia. We are very motivated and we are aware of the challenge. We hope to play for good outcomes,” said Rajevac, whose team will play a warm-up game with Oman behind closed doors on Wednesday.

Despite the pressure, the Serbian coach insists he is more concerned about winning matches than cautiously racking up the points his team needs to secure a second-round berth.

‘’We will try to win every match we play, as each win is important. The strongest team will be UAE as they have home advantage,” said Rajevac.

His newly selected captain, Teerasil Dangda, says the Thai players are in great mental and physical shape and all share the same target of reaching the knockout stage. 

“We all desperately want to reach the second round. We will have time to adjust to the weather and conditions before Sunday,” said the 30-year-old striker, who downplayed his status as the only player in the team with Asia Cup experience.

“Although I have played in Asian Cups over the last 12 years, I haven’t helped the team much. In fact, there are several good players in the team now who have more international tournament experience than I do.”