LAHORE, Feb 26: Olympian Islahuddin Siddiqui, who was appointed new Pakistan hockey team manager and chief coach said on Monday he would be more accountable for the performance since he was a paid official.
“Giving monthly salary to a local coach will definitely play a vital role in promoting the game and I consider it a bold step. Now the coach will be more focussed on his work and planning. He will also be more accountable," Islah, who is the first local paid coach told Dawn.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed Islah as new paid Pakistan hockey team manager and chief coach, saying coach would be named after his consultation. Islah replaced Shahnaz Sheikh who quit after last December’s Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
The PHF in the past had also experimented with a paid foreign coach Roelant Oltmans. The Dutchman was also brought in almost a year before 2004 Athens Olympics where Pakistan finished a poor fifth.
It is not the first time that Islah has been given the charge of the national squad. He was also the team manager of 2000 Sydney Olympic squad but the outfit couldn’t do better than finishing fourth.
However, PHF secretary Akhtarul Islam flatly refused to reveal the financial package Islah has been offered for this assignment.
“I can’t tell you how much Islah will be getting but what can I say is that the PHF is surely giving him a handsome amount,” Akhtar said when pressed to disclose the amount.
The PHF president Zafarullah Jamali and Akhtar announced the decision after a meeting at National Hockey Stadium. Islah has been appointed to manage and train the team till 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Akhtar said apart from Islah, other team management staff would also be paid. He believed decision of hiring the services of technical staff on salary could be a turning point and hoped that it would bring positive results.
The newly-appointed manager, however, was reluctant to comment when asked whether he was satisfied with the time given to prepare a formidable squad for Olympics.
However, he said though the task was huge, it would depend on the preparation plan. He admitted the time was a big factor in raising a strong team, but now with extra efforts and planning he hoped he would yield better results.
"As the game is on decline for more than a decade, the team management, players and the PHF must be focussed on preparations for the Olympics so that we can regain past glories.”
The manager flatly refused to comment on the future of five players banned by PHF chief Jamali for opting to play foreign leagues instead of joining the national training camp for Doha Games despite being invited.
"I have no idea about the policy of the president in this regard. I will have a meeting with the PHF secretary which is expected in next couple of days," Islah said.
However, Jamali has already made it clear while announcing the Asian Games squad last year that the group of five including controversial players Mohammad Saqlain, Sohail Abbas and Mohammad Waseem would never be called for the national duty at least during his tenure.
He said he would watch the national championship matches next month to select more talented players for the camp to raise a strong team for Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May.
He said physical fitness of the players was a grey area and the players had to improve considerably in this department. The second problem, he said, was the missing of the scoring opportunities.
"If we remain successful in overcoming the shortcomings in these departments I hope we will be back on the winning track.”
The manager said he would welcome proposals from all former greats for the betterment of the team.
Meanwhile, Akhtar said the PHF elections would be held during the Congress meeting in Karachi on April 2. He said the president PHF had summoned both rival groups of the Punjab Hockey Association (PHA) including the PHA president Mian Imran Masood and secretary Naveed Alam on March 14 to resolve the issue.