Kiatisak defiant, says he will respect the decision of FAT
Beleaguered national football team coach Kiatisak Senamuang said he would respect the decision of the Football Association of Thailand should it decide to relieve him of his duty on the grounds of his side’s woeful campaign in the last-12 team round of the Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
Kiatisak’s men were condemned to their sixth defeat in seven Group B games on Tuesday when they were handed another harsh lesson by leaders Japan at the Saitama Stadium.
The Thai, the lowest ranked team at 127 to reach the continent’s decisive qualifying round, had given a good account of themselves against the 51st-ranked opponents by ensuring that the Japanese did not have all their own way in front of partisan crowd.
Nevertheless, the hosts’ class eventually shone through as they ran out as comfortable winners with a 4-0 scoreline in the end. Teerasil Dangda’s missed penalty in the closing stages summed up the Thai team’s evening as they languished at the bottom of the six-team table with only a single point from a possible 21.
The Kingdom’s latest setback that came hot on the heels of a disappointing 3-0 home loss to Saudi Arabia last week further fueled speculation over Kiatisak’s future even though the former national striker signed a one-year extension to his contract last month.
The coach himself insisted there were plenty of positives to take from his charges’ spirited display against the Japanese, who are bidding for their sixth successive World Cup appearance.
“Personally, I’m really impressed with our performance [against Japan]. We’re trying to find out who suits best for each game. We tried to play as best as we could. We could see that everyone gave his 100 per cent.
“It’s an exciting game and a fairly fought battle. There was no yellow card. Both sides focused on their own play. “Statistically, we showed lot of improvement. We actually had more shots than the Japanese. We had 14 attempts compared to 13 they had. However, we were not sharp in finishing.
“Had we got a goal back in the first half and Teerasil not missed his penalty then anything could have happened,” said the 43-year-old coach, referring to the incident near the end of the opening half when his men failed to score in a goalmouth scramble.
Kiatisak, who steered the country to the record-breaking fifth Asean Championship title at the end of last year, said he would accept the decision if the Thai FA deemed a coaching change was necessary.
“It depends on the association – whether they’re pleased [with the team’s performances] or not. If they want to discard the playing squad and the coaching team, it’s up to the [FAT] president. He could do as he wishes.”
