Kiatisak sets a target for SEA Games squad
Play
Former national captain Kiatisak "Zico" Senamuang has set a 10-point target for his under-23 side in the group stages of the men's football competition in the SEA Games.
Thailand, the most successful team in the history of the biennial tournament, are in Group B along with hosts Myanmar, Indonesia (who finished runners-up two years ago when they hosted the event), Cambodia and Timor Leste.
The Thais, who have just returned to the capital from a three-week training camp in Chiang Mai, will begin their quest to reclaim the title that has eluded them since 2009 against unfancied Timor Leste on Saturday.
Kiatisak, who led the country to glory in the Games during his stellar playing career, said most of his men were in good shape physically and he was looking forward to notching up at least 10 points from four group matches.
“The first game against Timor is the most important one. We need to claim three points to boost team morale. We then face Indonesia in a match we are expected to win as well.
“Against hosts Myanmar, we hope to get at least a draw, and we shouldn’t have any problem in our last game against Cambodia.
“We initially struggled with injury problems for players such as ’keeper Kawin Thamsatchanan and Sarawut Masuk, but they are almost fully recovered. They now need a few more days to get back to full fitness,” 40-year-old Kiatisak said.
The former national striker also tried to play down concerns over match-fixing, given the SEA Games matches are popular with bookmakers.
“None of the players in the squad has won the Games title before and many of them will play in the event in Myanmar for the last time. So we all want to win the gold medal,” Kiatisak said.
