May 23, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 06, 1428

LAHORE, May 22: Pakistan hockey team’s manager-cum-chief coach Islahuddin on Tuesday shied away from predicting Pakistan’s chances in the forthcoming Champions Trophy and 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Addressing a joint press conference alongwith coach Manzoor-ul-Hasan, secretary Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Khalid Mahmood and chief selector Khawaja Zakauddin, Islah said the team was going through a rebuilding process and it would take four to five years for it to turn into a formidable side.

Asked about Pakistan’s chances in the Champions Trophy and the Olympics, Islah said: "It is premature to predict anything about Pakistan’s chances in these two tournaments. We are weak in almost all departments of the game and need to improve quite a bit. Our forwards lack scoring power while the defenders have several drawbacks and the fitness problem is another grey area.”

Pakistan will be hosting the Champions Trophy in December this year while the Olympics will be held in Beijing in the month of August next year.

Islah, who was recently appointed head-coach for a term of two years, admitted that he could not achieve the target he had set for Pakistan in the recently concluded Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. "I had some expectations from the team but the boys did not come up to that," he repented.

Pakistanis finished sixth in the tournament played in Ipoh, their worst ever faring in the event’s history. "Actually, I had wrongly assessed the level of fitness of our players which was far below the required standards,” said the former Olympian.

When reminded about former Dutch coach Roelant Oltman’s criticism of Pakistan players over fitness, Islah said it was indeed an age-old problem and it was imperative for the boys to overcome it pretty soon. "A strict fitness test will be conducted when the players will attend the next training camp and every player has to show improvement, otherwise he will face the axe," said Islah in a rather stern tone. "It is their weak physical condition that has affected players’ performance in the second halves of most games," he said.

Coach Manzoor-ul-Hasan, while endorsing Islah’s views, added that players needed job security to perform consistently well at the top level. "Personally, I believe the players have the fear of economic problems and except captain Rehan Butt, no other player of Pakistan has a regular job,” he said.

Manzoor suggested that PHF should sign central contracts with the players to pay them a monthly stipend until the time they got fully employed.

PHF secretary Khalid Mehmood, however, ruled out the practical application of Manzoor’s suggestion, saying the federation had no funds to introduce the central contract system in hockey. "When we have no money, how can we even think about such projects," said the secretary.

Khalid added that PHF president Mir Zafarullah Jamali had urged President Musharraf and the Prime Minister to ensure the implementation of new sports policy according to which all sportsmen representing Pakistan at international level should be provided employment.

Meanwhile, Islah said he had no differences with coach Manzoor and they shared a cordial working relationship. "We have been working together in the past too and our presence here today is ample proof of our good association."

Commenting on Shakeel Abbasi’s exclusion from Azlan Shah Cup squad, Islah said he was short on performance in the Asian Games as well as in the training camp. No player will be able to make the Pakistan team from now on unless he displays consistency and fitness.”

Islah admitted that Pakistan was not a favourite visiting side anymore for the European teams and were not a big draw in major events. "We are not invited for this year’s RaboBank Trophy and for any other major four-nation tournament in Europe because of our rapidly falling standard in the game," he said.

Islah said his first priority will be to raise the playing standard of the Pakistani players before undertaking any tours of Asian countries. "Earlier, there were only India and Pakistan as two major hockey forces but now South Korea, Malaysia and China are almost at par with us," he said. Islah concluded by disclosing that he had handed over a preparation plan for Pakistan team to the PHF secretary and has also sent in his report on the Azlan Shah Cup debacle.