LAHORE, Dec 5: Terry Walsh, The Netherlands hockey coach, on Sunday promised a sterling show by his side against Pakistan on Tuesday in a crucial Champions Trophy match, saying a battling performance by India won't demoralise his players.

"No, there will be no negative impact on my players after the match against the Indians today. I must say that we will be as resilient as we can against Pakistan," Walsh told Dawn.

India gave the Dutch a major scare before losing 4-5 in the league match. Walsh, an Australian hockey star associated with the Dutch team, said that although the Trophy was the toughest tournament and he respected the participants, his team would be creating "real trouble" for the Pakistanis.

"Germany have a young side and even then they gave Pakistan a tough time. It was just luck that Pakistan won against Germany 3-1 the other day or things could have been different considering the performance of the home team.

"All I can say is that it will be a really tough match on Tuesday but we will be showing great resilience," he said. Walsh said Pakistan and India - the two Asian teams participating in the Trophy - had adopted European style, drifting from their traditional Asian style.

"Pakistan and India have been playing with a European system after switching over from Asian style hockey. While it has its own advantages, it also has disadvantages," the coach said but refused to elaborate what could be the negative effect.

"I will not comment on the disadvantages of changing the style. I am not against changing the style. But a change in culture or traditional style is like a dangerous animal which should be handled very carefully," Walsh said.

While Walsh was confident of a powerful display, the Pakistan camp was cautious, saying it would be a make-or-break situation for both sides. Pakistan captain Waseem Ahmad said his side and The Netherlands had 50-50 chances, but Tuesday's game would be as crucial and tough as the final.

"I can't say what would be the result, but I think both sides have 50-50 chances to win. Both sides will be battling hard to win the precious three points as it will clear the way to final," the midfielder said.

Waseem, however, said Pakistan did not have a psychological advantage over the Dutch because of 3-1 victories and a close 5-4 win by The Netherlands over India. "There will be no psychological advantage for us since the Dutch are the defending champions and a world class side. Winning by a close margin does not matter to them," he opined.

The skipper agreed penalty corner ace Sohail Abbas would be the key weapon but hoped the forwards would play with better cohesion to contribute a few goals. The Netherlands captain Jeroen Delmee vowed to bolster his side's defence to restrict the Pakistanis from making inroads into their circle.

"Penalty corner is Pakistan's strong department and we will not be letting them come near our circle so that could not force short corners," the Dutchman said.