Irish potential something of a ‘curiosity’ admits Muller
Although he has had six months to work with his new charges since he took over the coaching reins of the Irish senior women’s hockey side from Riet Kuper, Gene Muller admits that the potential of the side is something of a “curiosity.”
The genial South African, who came to the Irish job after spells as coach to the South African national women’s team and the Canadian national men’s side, has seen both sides of the coaching coin and has achieved success in situations where on one hand he had almost unlimited playing resources and, on the other, virtually none.
Here he finds himself somewhere in the middle and in a situation where he has decent playing resources and reasonable financial back-up, but where neither is anywhere near those of the world’s top sides.
Not that he’s complaining; it is simply that as he prepares his team for the rigours of a European Championship he is in something of a sporting netherworld where he does not yet know the full extent of the playing strength or capabilities of the players available to him. Against England today he will start to find out exactly what he has on his hands.
The root of Muller’s problem is that he does not know if his charges are capable of performing above expectations, or if they will fail to meet those which he harbours. Basically he feels he is still in the dark with regards to the potential of his team.
It may be that they could surprise everyone and claim a top-three finish in Manchester which would automatically qualify them for next year’s Olympics; or, it could transpire that they will end up fighting for their lives to retain European ‘A’ status and a decent ranking for the qualifying tournament for Beijing.
“Right now, the situation is something of a curiosity because I simply don’t know which way it is going to pan out,” he says. “We’re in a situation where I’m a new coach with a new team and while half of the girls might be very experienced, the other half are relatively inexperienced, so we don’t know how the mix will turn out. I’d personally feel more comfortable going into this tournament if I had another six months under my belt as I’m still on a steep learning curve here.”
Asked to describe what, if any, changes he has implemented on the playing style of the Irish team, Muller says that he has tried to impose his own stamp on the side and that their approach is now “a bit more risky” than what was seen under Kuper’s reign.
“The Irish style was quite conservative in order to eke out results. My idea is that we play much more risky hockey but the difficulty there is that it can leave you vulnerable,” the coach says. “Basically I want the team to play a more attacking style and most of our training is geared towards that, with the aim of getting more players involved in attacking situations and more players in the circle when the team is on the offence.”
He says that, with this new policy in mind, he is probably lucky that three of his more experienced players — Eimear Cregan, Jenny McDonagh and Cathy McKean — play in forward roles, but he says the key to doing well in Manchester is that Ireland’s best players step up to the mark.
“It is simple: the girls we know to be our best players have to be our best players in the tournament. That is going to be critical for us because otherwise we won’t get results. But what has to be remembered is that while this is a learning curve for me, it is the same for the players,” Muller asserts.
Today’s opener against England is a very big game for the new coach and his team and he is in no doubts about where a victory — or a loss — will leave them. With Italy (“feisty and unpredictable”) and Holland (“the best team in the world right now”) also in their group in Manchester, a result of any kind against England opens up all sorts of possibilities.
“Our aim is to try and get something out of it. It is definitely the game of the tournament for us as a win or a tie presents us with different opportunities. If we lose, then the fight is on to stay in the ‘A’ division.
“I think, though, that the game against Italy is going to be key. If we manage to win against England, then the Italian game is a really big one for us; but if we lose, it is even bigger.
“While I am confident we can maintain status in the ‘A’ division, it has to be remembered that we finished fifth in the last two European championships and they were peak achievements for the side and we cannot realistically expect a repeat.”
Facing an England team today which was very unlucky not to achieve a top four finish in the World Championships, the South African knows it will not be easy for the Irish to break them down, but he pinpoints the input of the younger squad members as vital to Irish hopes.
With a solid backbone of experience though the likes of captain Linda Caulfield (146 caps), Jill Orbinson (134), Ciara O’Brien (124) and Cregan (111), the team will also rely on new talent such as Emma Clarke, Roisín Flinn, Emer Harte and Julia O’Halloran, whose combined total of international appearances has yet to match any of the senior players’ totals.
But while Muller reckons their input will be “critical” he still feels they will be up to the job at hand.
“I honestly don’t know how the younger squad members will do against major opposition; we can only wait and see how they do. But I expect them to do well,” he maintains.
The coach says he is “extremely nervy” about what lies ahead and insists that he will have to work hard to ensure the players “don’t get a sense of that,” he also feels that this could be the start of a concerted period of improvement for the team.
“It is in our own hands now and if we play to the best of our abilities we can only wait and see where that leads us.”
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