Bangalore: The Indian men’s hockey team’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne made it clear that he is not bothered by critics questioning his appointment as he has to deliver results.
“I cannot do anything about what people talk about me. I am just focusing on what I can do as a coach. My quest is to build a team, who can give results on regular basis,” Marijne told this agency Saturday.
Marijne was associated with women’s national team before being handed the new responsibility. But by his own admission, he has coached more men’s teams.
“In the last eight years, I had coached more men’s teams more than women’s. I feel confident about this job and that is most important thing for me right now,” he pointed out.
Replying to a query, Marijne said the women’s squad were disappointed about his appointment, for they would be missing him for whatever good work they had been executing.
Yeah, they were disappointed because they were happy with what we were doing. I am happy that they were disappointed because if they weren’t that would have meant I was not doing my job properly,” pointed out Marijne.
Marijne said the biggest challenge for him is to know the team better in next following months. “I do not know how the team react to pressure. How are they faring in tournaments? What is their behaviour? Things like that, I would want to know in following months,” Marijne informed.
Asked which are the areas he would like to focus on Marijne said it is too early to take a call, but he would watch players in action during the Asia Cup next month.
“Asia Cup will be important tournament for me to assess players where they stand and what needs to be done on their shortcomings and improvement on their strengths,” he stated.
Understanding Indian culture
Hockey India’s (HI) high performance director David John said Saturday here that Sjoerd Marijne was appointed coach of the men’s team as he ‘understood’ the Indian culture after working with the women for six months. “Marijne had a slight advantage over others, for he understood the Indian culture while he was working with the Indian women’s team for the last six months. From that perspective, it made our job easier,” said John. “I am sure that Marijne will do a good job with the boys,” he added.
