Head coach Milovan Rajevac is looking forward to seeing Thailand make a "big impact" at the 2019 Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates, but admits that he is unsure if he will be taking them there.
Rajevac signed a one-year deal with the Football Association of Thailand in May, and his initial remit was to see Thailand through the remainder of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign which ended with Tuesday's 2-1 defeat against Australia in Melbourne.
The Thais took just one point from his three matches in charge, leaving them at the bottom of Group B on two points, nine points adrift of fifth-placed Iraq. While the Serbian's future may be uncertain, he is, nonetheless, planning ahead.
"I think there is a lot of potential in this team and, of course, it requires hard work and time," Rajevac said. "I'm sure they can achieve big things in the future, and I'm absolutely sure they can make a big impact at the next Asian Cup in 2019. Regarding the contract, it's still too early to say. We will see what's going to happen about that.
"We have friendly matches in October and these matches are the only ones up until the end of this year. We are going to monitor the league because almost all of the players are playing in the domestic league, which is a bit of a problem. Only Jay [Chanathip Songkrasin] went to play in Japan, and he is getting excellent experience there."
When Rajevac took over from Kiatisuk Senamuang, he vowed to try and tighten things up in defence. He has been successful to an extent, with just five goals conceded in three matches, compared to nine in the previous three.
But the former Ghana boss acknowledges that the concession of late goals has to stop.
In his first World Cup qualifier in charge, two points were dropped when the U.A.E. grabbed an equaliser three minutes into added time. Against Iraq last week, an 85th-minute penalty gave their opponents a 2-1 victory, and it was a similar story in Melbourne this week when Mathew Leckie stabbed in an 86th-minute winner in a 2-1 win for the Socceroos.
"We have talked about this very often in recent times," Rajevac said. "And you can see that in the Thai League this is something that happens all the time.
"Of course, we are working on that and it's crucial to stop conceding goals in the final minutes of a match, especially when have conceded so few goals in the preceding minutes."
Meanwhile, the game against Australia turned out to be the final international match for veteran goalkeeper Sintaweechai Hathairattanakool.
The 35-year-old has had to play second fiddle to Kawin Thamsatchanan in recent years, but he still managed to win 78 caps for his country over a 14-year period.
"I had thought about retiring from international football for a long time," Sinthaweechai said. "To play for the national team had been my dream since I was young. Fourteen years is quite a long time. I am happy with every minute that I played."
The Suphanburi keeper, who spent his best years at Chonburi, won Southeast Asian Games gold medals in 2003 and 2005, while he was part of the Thai squad who lifted the AFF Suzuki Cup last year.
Sintaweechai also won a Thai Premier League title with Chonburi in 2007, in between spells in Indonesia with Persib Bandung.