Saudi Arabia’s caretaker coach Cosmin Olaroiu said he’s spending as much time acting as a psychiatrist to his players as imparting tactical wisdom at the Asian Cup.

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The Romanian said strengthening the mentality of the Saudi players was one of his biggest challenges as the three-time champions look to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

“Improving the psychology of the players is a very important part of my job,” he said on the eve of their crunch Group B clash with Uzbekistan. “You need to build the confidence of the players. Attitude is most important in football.”

Saudi Arabia recovered from a shock 1-0 defeat by China in their opening game by overpowering North Korea 4-1 in midweek, effectively making Sunday’s Melbourne clash against the Uzbekis a knockout game with the Chinese already through.

Uzbekistan reached the semi-finals in 2011 but need a drastic reversal in fortune following a stunning 2-1 defeat by China.

“I don’t think we underestimated China,” said Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov. “We just made silly mistakes and we paid for them.”

Meanwhile, Alain Perrin, the coach of China, chose to dampen expectations on the eve of their final group game against North Korea.

He said: “I think our team are not the best at this tournament. But even although we are not the best we will challenge and try to beat our opponents.”