19 December 2004	Sunday	06 Ziqa'ad 1425

KARACHI, Dec 18: Australian hockey legend Richard Charlesworth says he could consider coaching Pakistan squad if offered but only on long-term basis supported by resources, saying a brief stint is like tinkering at the edges.

"My feeling is that it seems to me Pakistan is looking for a local coach. However, if that is a possibility then I would consider it. But I am not interested in short-term (contract) and coming and going.

"It has to be a long-term commitment. It has to be solid. It has to be supported by resources so that you can build the team," Charlesworth said in an exclusive interview with Dawn.

However, the former Australia captain said coaching Australia or India was his major interest but added he would join the Indian side only on long-term relationship rather than having brief stint before leaving.

The Aussie star said hiring foreign coaches was not an issue and countries should engage the best coach available for the advancement of the sport whether a foreigner or a local.

"You just hire the best coach. And if the best coach is a local person then it's fine. My concern in the sub-continent is that Pakistan have not won anything during the past decade and India have not won anything during past 25 or 30 years. It means something is wrong," he said.

Charlesworth, who helped Australian women's team clinch two World Cups and Olympic gold medals, said although the Pakistani players were dexterous, the game was needed to be promoted on scientific and modern lines.

"The players have talent and skill. But the organization, discipline, technical and tactical stuff around them is not as sophisticated as it was before. When I first played we had none of those things in the West. Pakistan had camps to prepare for tournaments, number of coaches and all range of things that we did not have," he said.

The Aussie said since the scenario had completely changed and Europe was dominating international hockey, imported coaches could make an impact on sub-continental hockey.

"Now things have changed. I think sub-continental players can learn from us. And in the end if anybody comes to coach in the sub-continent he needs to develop local coaches. I think coaching in the sub-continent has fallen behind a lot in tactical, technical and scientific areas.

"You have to set those things right. So there is a place for foreign coaches. But you can't do it in a year. It's nonsense to say a person could make a difference in a year. You have to have a person committed fulltime and you can't do it flying in and flying out.

"One has to be on the ground and involved right in the middle of the structure. Then you can make a difference in a three, four or five year period. Roelant Oltmans is a good coach. But talking about six months or a year, you are tinkering at the edges," he said.

Oltmans, who is to join the Dutch squad from next year for a four-year term after expiry of his one-year contract with Pakistan, had been constantly flying to his home after each tournament with the approval of Pakistan Hockey Federation.

"In the Champions Trophy Pakistan did not have the finish that I would have expected. They had been lacking in sharpness, and crispness in skills was lacking. A player has a fraction of second to show his skills," he commented.

Charlesworth said a long-term approach and development programme at junior level were needed for bringing lost glory to Asia and added that he did not see any such projects in Pakistan which had been hampering the game from flourishing in the sub-continent.

"In Australia children start playing hockey between the ages of seven and 10. There are large numbers of people in Pakistan but don't have hockey at schools and there are few clubs. So how can the development occur?"

However, he said adopting European style of hockey was not the solution to check Pakistan's unbridled decline and added that it should rather be a mixture of Europe and Asia.

"What we have done in Australia is we have taken something from the Europeans and some from the Asians. I think Asian style is more suitable for Pakistan," he said.