Thailand defender Tristan Do has taken a swipe at Milovan Rajevac following the sacking of the Serbian as head coach of the national team.
The former Ghana gaffer was shown the exit last week following the War Elephants 4-1 Asian Cup defeat to India.
According to the Bangkok United winger, Rajevac did not deserve to be handed the team and lavished praises on the FAT for the decision to boot the Serbian out during an interview with FOX Sports Asia.
“I want to praise the [Football Association of Thailand] for the decision that they made because they had the courage to take the coach out during a competition which was not an easy decision. But that was definitely the best decision,” said the 25-year-old Bangkok United full back.
“This coach never deserved Thailand. It was the best decision for him to be out,” he added. Rajevac was fired from his position after Thailand suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of India in their opening group match of the Asian Cup on January 6. However, Thailand have kept their hopes alive in the competition after a 1-0 win over Bahrain under their new coach.
“Within the team, we all sat together [after the sacking of the coach] and looked at each there and said: Okay, now this is only us. We don’t have any more excuses. We don’t have no more nothing. This is just us. The players left to show what we can do,” he revealed how the Thailand players reacted to the firing of the former Ghana head coach.
The right-back said that the team were missing the smiles during Rajevac’s last days in the job. “We were missing the good vibes and the enjoyment. We are doing the best job in the world. So, we are not supposed to come to training every day with heads down and everything. And I think [interim coach Sirisak] is bringing what was missing and the smile that was missing in this team,” he said.
Tristan said that the spirits inside the team have improved under the caretaker manager. “In this particular moment, I would say it is more relief within the team because the preparation before has been difficult. And, as I said, it was the best decision for the team because now only the players and the new coach have to face their responsibility and what they have to do to get better,” he said.
Rajevac took charge of Thailand in April 2017 after spells with both Qatar and Algeria. He also famously guided Ghana to the last eight of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.