Revington: We reached point of no return

Paul Revington left the Irish hockey public with more questions than answers over his departure after admitting his tenure as senior men’s coach had reached “the point of no return”.

The South African wrapped up his three-and-a-half-year stint with the Irish side this week, and barring any last-minute hitches, will take over the job as senior coach to the Malaysian men.

Revington resigned in May following Ireland’s heartbreaking last-gasp Olympic qualifier final defeat to Korea in March, but stayed on to oversee the Celtic Cup and UCD 3 Nations campaigns.

He said “the decision is done and the time is definitely up” but gave a cryptic response when pressed on whether his work with Ireland was incomplete as they continue to seek a place at a major world level competition.

“I could’ve (been building towards World Cup); we can look at this in any way. I see it as that I’ve made a decision early enough for people to find the next coach, put the next simple path in place, and they need to complete the task.

“Everyone’s been wanting me to say a whole lot, it’s just the time has come, and that’s that. I think we’d just reached a stage of possibly no return and that’s why I resigned. We ought to leave it at that.”

There were emotional scenes between Revington and the Irish players at Belfield on Thursday night following his final game, something the coach admitted he expected.

“(The players’ reaction) were natural. I think they’ve been emotional about several things. Between me and the players, we’re both disappointed the relationship has come to an end. In any relationship there’s going to be a window where both parties are disappointed, a little bit upset, but as long as the relationship stays healthy and there’s a good deal of respect between everyone, all should be okay.”

Revington leaves the Irish team in rude health, having helped the side from 18th to 15th in the world rankings while expanding the panel to over 40 players capable of mixing it with the best.

Ireland have become a consistent match for any side in world hockey, as evidence by victories over Olympic-bound Germany, Belgium, South Africa, Korea, Argentina and Spain.

Ireland also annexed four successive Celtic Cups, a European B title, the INSEP Five Nations crown — featuring world number one side Australia — and an equal-best fifth-place finish in the European A division last August under Revington. It drew worldwide recognition when he was named the joint-FIH Coach of the Year.