DESPITE THE absence of several stars from rival teams, including the late withdrawal of Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thailand’s national coach Milovan Rajevac says retaining the King’s Cup will still be a tough task for his side.

The friendlies, which kick off today at 4.30pm with the game between Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates at Rajamangala National Stadium, have been hit by the withdrawal of several players. Aubameyang brought further bad news for the tournament when he cancelled his trip to Bangkok following the death of his grandmother on Tuesday.

Earlier, 2016 AFC Player of the Year Omar Abdulrahman and 2015 Asian Cup top scorer Ali Mabkhout were left out of the UAE line-up after they violated a team curfew prior to the January 5 Gulf Cup final defeat to Oman.

Then Slovak star Marek Hamsik of Napoli suffered a thigh injury during a game with Genoa in the Italian Serie A on Saturday, which ruled him out of the trip to Bangkok.

Nevertheless Thailand manager Rajevac refused to underestimate the visitors, especially Gabon who began training yesterday bolstered by the presence of Southampton central midfielder Mario Lemina. Thailand and the African nation meet today at 7.30pm in a game televised live on Thai Rath TV 32.

“Each team just lacks one or two players. Overall, they are all strong teams with good quality players. Gabon is one of the top teams in Africa with a fantastic coach and strong players,” said Rajevac, who insists the tournament remains highly competitive even in the absence of the high-profile players.

“It’s a good chance to see new players. New stars are always born in tournaments like this,” added the coach, who orchestrated Thailand’s 1-0 win over Kenya in a home friendly last year.

“To play [well against] a good team, you have to put a lot of effort into the match. I hope my players will put a lot of effort to defend the title.”

With or without Aubameyang, Gabon’s coach Jose Antonio Camacho will be seeking personal revenge against Thailand for the upset 5-1 defeat in a friendly five years ago when he was in charge of the Chinese national team. Thailand were at the time coached by Kiatisak Senamuang.

“It was a long time ago. Back then the Chinese team were mentally not good and they were just the youth team. It’s unfortunate that Aubameyang cannot join us but we will try to make it very difficult for Thailand to beat us,” said Spaniard Camacho.

Martin Skrtel 

Slovak captain Martin Skrtel, who played for Liverpool in an exhibition with Thai Premier League All Stars here in 2016, hopes to see a big turnout.

“This time it will be different as I’ve come to play for the Slovak national team. I still remember the good reception I got from fans during my last visit. I hope to see a lot of people come to the stadium,” said Skrtel, who now plays for Fenerbahce in Turkey.