For a team who won the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship five times and made the final eight times, any finish outside the top two will be regarded as a failure by Thailand.
After being knocked out in the semi-finals of the last edition in 2018 as holders, the War Elephants are bringing their big guns - including overseas-based players - to Singapore this year to wrest back the crown.
They include experienced goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan (from Belgium's OH Leuven), defenders Jonathan Khemdee (Denmark's Odense BK) and Theerathon Bunmathan (Japan's Yokohama F. Marinos), influential playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin (Japan's Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo) and midfielder Thanawat Suengchitthawon (England's Leicester City).
This is a major difference from the 2018 squad that comprised all-local-based players, and former Thailand and Laos coach Steve Darby felt the quintet would provide a massive boost.
The 66-year-old Englishman said: "Their overseas experience has not only made them better players but also toughened them up. They are essential for Thailand (to do well at the AFF Suzuki Cup)."
However, Thailand did not fare well in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers. They were eliminated after finishing behind the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Malaysia, and were ahead of only Indonesia.
This led to the sacking of Japanese coach Akira Nishino, as their SEA Games team also failed to make it past the group stage in 2019, when Vietnam won their first gold medal.
The new man at the helm is Mano Polking, 45, who became the head coach of a national team for the first time in September.
Based on his time with Bangkok United in the Thai top tier from 2014 to last year, the German tactician favours a possession-heavy, attacking style with quick and technical players.
Despite the team having to adapt to the new coach in a short time frame, Darby felt Polking's experience as a former Thailand assistant coach and his time in the Thai league stands him in good stead.
He said: "Normally it would be a hindrance losing a coach so near a tournament. But in this case it could be a positive factor.
"Polking is an excellent coach and knows the players very well due to his experience as a coach in the Thai league and his time with the national team. So in many ways he was far more qualified than the previous Japanese coach, who made too many eccentric decisions with his team selections.
"I also know that he has the respect of the current players. I think it's a boost for the team as many were unhappy with the methods of the previous coach."
Polking should clear his first hurdle against Timor-Leste tomorrow, but sterner tests of his credentials and tactical nous await as Thailand take on Myanmar (Dec 11), the Philippines (Dec 14) and hosts Singapore (Dec 18).
In any case, expectations back home are sky high as usual.
Paul Murphy, a freelance football writer in Thailand, said the minimum target would be to reach the final. He added: "People in Thailand want to see progress and with the squad they have, I think the final is an achievable target.
"Malaysia and Vietnam are the two teams viewed as threats to that target."
Gian Chansrichawla, co-founder and writer at Thai football portal Thai League Central, added: "Anything less than the final would be a huge disappointment.
"The national team have struggled in recent years but this AFF Championship is a prime opportunity for Thailand to get back on the right track and play good football again."
