LAHORE, Nov 24: New Zealand hockey coach Kevin Towns said on Wednesday that his side could prove a dark horse in the six-nation Dec 4 to 12 Champions Trophy to be organized here.

"Other teams could be considering us a weak side and they are expected to be relaxed while playing against us. But we will try to take advantage of that," Towns said after a practice session at National Hockey Stadium.

New Zealand, who arrived in Lahore Tuesday night, were the first team to reach here. Other teams are The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, India and Pakistan. Towns said New Zealand had made significant progress by improving from a poor ranking of 16 to six in four years and would now be taking part in the world's toughest tournament.

"Our participation in Champions Trophy will further boost the game in New Zealand," he said. The coach said his side had been practising hard for the past four years and had prepared various strategies for the forthcoming event.

Towns said his team played well in Athens Olympics, but a big margin defeat at the hands of Australia made the difference. He said three players, captain Simon Towns, Phillip Burrows and James Nation, could not come along with the other members of the team as they were playing in league in different countries.

The skipper will reach by Nov 29 while the others two on Thursday, he said. Towns said he was disappointed by Australia's pullout from the tournament citing security fears as the reason. "But we took our decision under the advise our diplomats," he said. New Zealand will play a warm-up match against Pakistan on Nov 30.

NEW ZEALAND SQUAD: Patel Mitesh, Kosoof David, Smith Darren, Mcindoe Wayne, Gosling Dion, Hopping Blair, Couzins Dean, Archibald Ryan, Puna Dharmesh, Hari Bevan, Woolford Paul (goalkeeper), Shaw Brad, Pontifex Kyle (goalkeeper), Stephenson Lloyd, Brooks Gareth.