Kiatisak unfazed as slumping Thais face Blue Samurai

The Kingdom take on Japan in Saitama today with little hope of making life difficult for the four-time Asian champions.

The country’s flagging campaign went from bad to worse when they slumped to their fifth defeat in six games in the group with a resounding 3-0 loss at home to leaders Saudi Arabia on Thursday. The setback effectively ended Thai hopes of a first-ever World Cup finals appearance.

With a meagre return of a single point from the possible 18, Thailand, who earned a surprise 2-2 draw with Asian Cup holders Australia in November, are bottom of the six-team Group B, 12 points behind the leaders with only four games left to play. The top two teams in the group gain automatic qualification.

Kiatisak merely shrugged his shoulders when asked whether the growing criticism bothers him. “No, not at all. I don’t think too much about it. Everyone is aware of the fact that it’s not an easy task. I said earlier that every game would be difficult. We can’t say for sure that we will claim three points in any match.

“Even when we lose it’s a question of how we get beaten. We could either put up a fight or simply cave in. I’m only thinking about the players now because someone needs to offer them a helping hand. They are obviously disappointed by the result. If you stand by them, they will get back on their feet.

 “We have seen fans coming to watch us at venues with a smile on their faces. When we lose, we need to thank them for supporting us. Of course, we are bothered about those who have been behind us rock solid from the beginning. They know a lot about Thai football,” said the Thai coach, who signed a one-year extension to his contract with the FA at the end of last month.

Asked whether he had seen any disparaging comments, the former national striker replied: “I didn’t read any. It doesn’t make any difference. Mui [striker Teerasil Dangda] said that if we only wanted to watch them [the elite sides] play, we couldn’t have come this far.”

When asked what he told his players about the four remaining games, Kiatisak said he told them to give their best. “They have sacrificed a lot by turning up for national duty. The clubs were quick to release them for international matches.

“The lads still want to keep on fighting. It’s no point blaming either the players or the tactics when we lose.

“They’ve given everything. It’s time to accept that we could win or lose whether at home or on the road,” said the trainer, whose side is the lowest-ranked team (127th) to make the third and final World Cup qualifying round.     

Channel 7 will televise the game live from 5.35pm.