ISLAMABAD, Sept 30: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is still undecided over the appointment of new coach for the national team with the Champions Trophy, set to kick off in December, round the corner.

The federation, considering a local coach without FIH qualified standards as Dawn has learnt, is paying no heed to the fact that without competitive hockey and long training session the team may finish the event on poor note.

“We haven’t decided about the coach for the national squad as yet, but we will take decision very soon,” PHF secretary Asif Bajwa told Dawn.

According to details, this year’s Champions Trophy will be played in Australia and Pakistan have been placed in Group ‘B’ alongside strong European sides like Belgium, Netherlands and hosts Australia.

Hockey experts in Pakistan are of the opinion that the PHF has to take quick decision on the matter linked to training and coaching programme of the national squad.

“The federation is still banking on the already tested former Olympian Akhtar Rasool while Khawaja Junaid is likely to call it a day,” said a source within the powerful corridors of the federation.

The source said that Akhtar is now again being considered for the job particularly in presence of the best FIH qualified coaches like Tahir Zaman and Tayyab Ikram.

The source also added: “This time no foreign coach will dare to train Pakistan since the federation has ousted Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel unceremoniously this summer, but the reasons for his sudden sacking were never made public by the federation.”

Heuvel was due to keep the job until after the Olympics this summer, but the federation claimed he (Heuvel) had failed to return as scheduled in January 2012 and had also signed a deal with a Dutch club in violation of his contract.

At the London Olympics, Pakistan could not make it to the podium and finished seventh on the points table.