Muller looks to maximise potential

THE new Irish ladies hockey coach is not expecting his new charges to set the world alight overnight, but he has already laid down what he believes to be some reasonable targets for the side as they head into a three-game series against Scotland this weekend.

South African Gene Muller, who has already successfully coached the women’s national team in his homeland as well as working minor miracles in his most recent role as head coach to the Canadian men’s team, admits that while next August’s European Championships in Manchester will be his first major target, he feels that the qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics which happens six months later, will be the first serious test of his side.

If nothing else, Muller is a realist, and he is well aware of the limitations of the current Irish squad in terms of their ability to impact either on the European or World scene, but he feels that even in the short period of time he has been here, he has seen a lot of unexploited potential.