The Football Association of Thailand has fired their head coach Milovan Rajevac after their heavy 1-4 loss to India in their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 opener.

The dismissal of the Serbian gaffer at this stage of the tournament comes as a surprise. Rajevac was appointed as head coach in April 2017 and he helped Thailand to qualify for the continental finals after a gap of 12 years.

“I hereby announce the suspension of Milovan Rajevac’s contract as coach of Thailand’s national team,” Football Association of Thailand President Somyot Poompanmoung said in an announcement released yesterday late evening.

Assistant coach Sirisak Yodyadthai has been appointed as interim head coach of the national team, who play Bahrain in their second Group A match on Thursday.