Thailand superstar Chanathip Songkrasin says that the national team had to change their head coach Milovan Rajevac because there were problems in the team.
Midfielder Chanathip helped the War Elephants reach the Round of 16 of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on Tuesday after holding hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) to a 1-1 draw.
And the 25-year-old looked back at their embarrassing start to the tournament when they suffered a 4-1 defeat to India — a result which cost Thailand head coach Rajevac his job.
“Congratulations to India, they played very well and the Thailand team played very badly and there were some problems in the team, so we changed the coach,” said Chanathip who guided Thailand to their first knockout stage appearance at the Asian Cup in 47 years.
“After that we had one spirit together and had a good attitude for the next game. We forgot the past.”
“I am very happy that we managed to make history for Thai football and for all 70 million Thai people. I want to thank the coach and the other players for everything they’ve done.”