Thailand coach Milovan Rajevac is busy telling his men to forget about the warm-up loss to Oman and focus instead on their AFC Asian Cup opener against India tomorrow.
The War Elephants were beaten 2-0 by Oman on Wednesday in a warm-up match that exposed a number of weaknesses in the Thai team's game.
The Thais, who are appearing at the finals of the Asian championship after a lapse of 12 years, meet India in their first Group A match tomorrow at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 8.30pm (Thai time).
The other two teams in the group are Bahrain and hosts the United Arab Emirates. Thailand will play their second round-robin game against Bahrain on Jan 10 before facing the host country on Jan 14.
The Thai team's training planned for Thursday was cancelled for unexplained reasons, but the squad practised for almost two hours yesterday.
Rajevac said yesterday that like other members of the national team, he was also disappointed by the defeat to Oman, but felt that the warm-up game was "a useful exercise".
"Although it was a disappointing result, I think we were able to gather a lot of crucial information, especially about our own team," said Rajevac.
"We had the chance to test our players for the last time before our first Asian Cup game and we made the best use of it. We divided the players into two groups and attempted to give everyone a chance to play.
"I think all the players showed good coordination and I am very proud that we were able to create two or three very good scoring chances. It's obviously frustrating that we couldn't avail those chances.
"We do have some weak points and the match against Oman made them obvious.
"At this point, we need to forget about the result of the warm-up game. It's time to focus on the looming match against India.
"We must try to do everything possible to start the tournament with a good result."
Meanwhile, experienced Thailand left-back Theerathon Bunmathan said he is confident that the War Elephants will put on an impressive show against India.
"Right now, everyone is trying very hard and looking forward to the first game. I think we will be ready for the first match," said Theerathon.
"I believe that we will win this game but we must not underestimate the opponents. India have a good attacking game and are strong in defending as well.
"We haven't had any problem in adapting to the weather here. We are now trying to learn about the tactics from the coach as much as possible.
"Personally, I am ready to put in my best for the team."
The tournament begins today and ends on Feb 1.
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