Kirins start post-Totchtawan era
Struggling giants hope to bounce back under caretaker coach, Sukhothai take on Port
>> At a time when SCG Muang Thong United need to reassure both themselves and their fans the most, they will be without the man who had been mentoring them for the past two years.
The Kirins tonight host Ubon UMT United without coach Totchtawan Sripan, less than a week after a humiliating 6-1 loss to Thai League 1 newcomers PT Prachuap that turned the things at the club upside down.
In the wake of Muang Thong’s worst ever league defeat since 2009, Totchtawan walked away from the team and the club management failed to persuade him to come back.
Muang Thong will play under caretaker coach Santi Chaipuek, who has made it clear that he has no intention of changing the team’s tactics in the absence of Totchtawan, a former Thailand midfielder popularly known as coach Ban.
Santi said: “In the match against Ubon UMT United, we will stick to the same style of play that coach Ban used. We don’t want to confuse the players.
“Right now, the players are feeling low after losing coach Ban, but they know the situation of the team. They know that they have to make an effort to restore the faith of our fans.”
Muang Thong will be hoping that their Brazilian striker Jakson Coelho will continue his scoring spree in the match.
The Kirins, runners-up in the league last season, have slumped to joint-ninth place in the table.
Meanwhile, Sukhothai coach Phairoj Bovornwattanadilok is hoping his team will pick up three points at their home ground when they face Port tonight.
The winners of this match will move to the top spot at least for a night as league leaders Buriram United play Navy tomorrow.
Phairoj said: “It will be a difficult game against Port because they have many good players. However, we know how to play and win against them.
“This is an important game for us and we have our fans behind us. Their support at Thung Thalay Luang Stadium has been an important factor in our success this season.”
Port coach Jadet Meelarp said: “Sukhothai have started off this season very well and we can’t take them for granted. However, if we play according to our game plan, we can surely beat them.”
Defending champions Buriram are hoping that their gruelling AFC Champions League draw with Japanese club Cerezo Osaka on Wednesday will not affect the performance of their players in the home game against Navy.
Buriram manager Tatthep Pitakpoolsin said: “This is another important game for us.
“Although we don’t have any injured players except Suchao Nutnum, we played in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday and some of our players are tired from that game.
“But we must try to claim three points from the match against Navy as we can’t afford to drop more points.”
FIXTURES
Today
5.45 pm — Muang Thong v Ubon UMT
6 pm — Bangkok Glass v PT Prachuap
7 pm — Sukhothai v Port
8 pm — Suphanburi v Chiang Rai
Tomorrow
6 pm — Police Tero v Chonburi, Buriram v Navy 7 pm — Ratchaburi v Nakhon Ratchasima, Air Force v Chainat