Thailand coach Winfried Schaefer admits that he is under pressure to guide his men to the AFF Suzuki Cup title.
Thailand striker Teerasil Dangda scored a hat-trick against Bangladesh on Saturday.
"Of course, winning the trophy is important. I have worked as coach in many countries for many years and there is always pressure," said the German coach.
"If you are to become successful, the most important thing is we must be well-prepared and work hard. We will do our best to win the Suzuki Cup."
The biennial Southeast Asian championship, to be co-hosted by Thailand and Malaysia, kicks off on Saturday.
Thailand are in Group A with Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines. The Thais open against the Philippines at Rajamangala National Stadium on Saturday.
Group B features, Malaysia, Singapore, Malaysia and Laos.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, which will be played on a home-and-away basis, as will the final.
Having watched the Philippines beat Singapore in a recent friendly, Schaefer said it would not be easy for his men to see off the Philippines.
"They are well-prepared for the tournament. They have strong and tall overseas-based players," he said.
"They seem to have a good system and their players understand each other well. So we must not underestimate them. We still have time to prepare for the match against them. But if our key players are fit and play according to our plan, then I'm sure that we will win."
Schaefer has welcomed back striker Teerasil Dangda and midfielder Datsakorn Thonglao from injuries. Both played in Thailand's 5-0 win over Bangladesh in a warm-up match on Saturday with Teerasil scoring a hat-trick.
Thailand also beat Malaysia 2-0 and hammered Bhutan 5-0 in their previous warm-up games.
Schaefer has trimmed his squad with six players dropped _ Surachart Sareepim, Thana Chanabut, Vichaya Dechmitr, Jetsadakorn Hemdaeng, Attapong Nooprom and Ratana Petch-arporn.
Three more players will be axed before Schaefer sends his list of 22 to the Asean Football Federation (AFF) by Friday.
Thailand have won the Southeast Asian championship three times _ the last 10 years ago.
The Thais were knocked out in the first round in the previous edition which was won by Malaysia.