Australian defender Luke Wilkshire believes the Socceroos need to put the two substandard performances against Iraq and Oman behind them if they are going to defeat Thailand and get through the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup.
The Socceroos now find themselves in a do-or-die situation, needing to defeat the hosts in Bangkok on Saturday to have any hope of staying alive. It's been a rapid fall from grace for the pre-tournament favourites but Wilkshire says the team has to move on and focus on beating the Thais.
"Shattered would be the word. We've got one more game to go and we've got to dust ourselves down and go again," Wilkshire said.
"There's no hiding from the fact that these last two games have been very disappointing for us, but the way it is, and they way it's structured we can get through the group," he said.
Wilkshire said that the team needs to make the most of the situation of still being contention despite drawing 1-1 with Oman and going down 3-1 to Iraq.
"It's a great occasion for us, we've got one last shot at it, and we've got to try and grasp that chance," he said.
Skipper Mark Viduka said that the Socceroos could benefit from using untried players in the final game as a means of re-invigorating the team.
"I think we have some young boys who are hungry to play for Australia and who are ready to. I think they'll be looking forward to their chance. We'll see how they go," he said.
Among those could be defenders Michael Beauchamp, Michael Thwaite and Mark Milligan. With Lucas Neill suspended, and Patrick Kisnorbo under pressure to keep his spot, it could be an all-new defence.
"I think that we should have dealt with the goal situations a little bit better than we did," Viduka said of the defence in the Iraq game. "Apart from the goals, I think we played better than we did the other day."
Viduka, headed to Newcastle after the tournament is completed, was coaxed out of international retirement for this tournament, but says he has no regrets.
"Am I disappointed I made the effort, No. I love playing for my country. With football you gotta take the ups and the downs. It's not always rosy, you know, I've been doing this all my life, there's been some great days and there's been some not so great days. I can't take that out of the game, the game is my life," he said.
"I think everybody who is here wants to be here. People cut short their holidays to be here. It means a lot to them. I don't think it's got to do with effort."
Viduka expects a light time on the training track over the next couple of days ahead of Monday's match.
"I don't think you can do too much training 'cos the games take so much out of you. We just have to recover from this game, and mentally, we need to determine whether we change tactics or keep the same tactics." he said.