Coach Kiatisak’s days NUMBERED

On Thursday, Football Association of Thailand president Somyot Poompanmuang added more grist to the rumour mill with a brusque comment: “Sooner or later there needs to be a change.”

Group B leaders Japan scored two goals in each half of Tuesday’s fixture at the Saitama Stadium to condemn Thailand to their sixth defeat in seven games and leave them rooted to the bottom of the standings with only a single point. 

The Thais’ latest setback came hot on the heels of their comprehensive 3-0 loss at home to Saudi Arabia, who are tied with Japan on 16 points with three games left to play in the decisive round of Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. The latest defeat has not helped the cause of the beleaguered national coach, who is under increasing pressure to quit.

While expressing appreciation for the job Kiatisak has done, Somyot did little to quell speculation swirling around the former national striker’s future, suggesting that time for a change may have come.

“I hold Kiatisak in high regard. What I’ve experienced working with him is that he’s a Thai coach with good discipline. He does his job and players respect him. That’s something any coach should have,” Somyot said of the man who guided the country to a record-breaking fifth Asean Championship title in December.    

“However, there are a lot of things we need to think about in order to move forward as I want to see us among the leading countries in Asia. 

“On the question of whether there should be a coaching change, I myself would like to know what Thai people are thinking about it. Are we on the same page? Do we think the same?  Is it okay to keep it like this, winning [regional sporting events] the SEA Games and Suzuki Cup and then suffering 3-0 or 4-0 defeats on the continental stage.

“It’s an embarrassment for me. I can’t accept that. If I don’t do anything and let things go on like this in the remaining three years of my term, then I had better resign. You should not be in the post if you can’t improve things when you’re in power. You should step aside for other people to take the post instead.

“I can’t say whether things are going to get better if we make a change now. It’s something that would take time. I’ve not talked to Kiatisak yet. When I was at Saitama Stadium, I only went down to try to lift the morale of the players and console Teerasil [Dangda], who missed a penalty. We just walked past each other as Kiatisak had to give interviews to the media.

“I would like to listen to the opinions of the fans as well as the press. But, I can’t say for sure whether there would be a change or not. Kiatisak still has almost a year left on his contract, while there are still three games to play. So, let’s wait and see.

“But, sooner or later we need to make a change. Maybe it will not come today, but tomorrow it will. Thai football does not belong to any individual, including myself,” said the FA boss.