Would like India to follow Oz path, says Nobbs

NEW DELHI: Michael Nobbs is the second Aussie after Ric Charlesworth to be in charge of the Indian hockey team but the former Olympian does not have any reservations regarding the job despite the acrimonious exit of Charlesworth.

“I am very excited and privileged to get this job. I have no reservations on working with the Indian team since I have lot of business partners and friends who are Indians. One of my hockey coaches was also Indian,” said the 57-year-old in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The Champions Trophy in December and Olympic qualifiers in February will present the first opportunity to test the coaching credentials of Nobbs but the coach is realistic.

“The Olympic qualifiers will be a real challenge but the imminent task at hand is to assess where we stand now and do a detailed analysis to help us move in the right direction,” said Nobbs.

He said that he would like India to follow Australia’s path, who have successfully used the Indian style play and are the top nation in hockey today.

“The Australian style of hockey is influenced by India. India tried the European style but it didn’t help much. Australia has been successful in incorporating the Indian style and have demonstrated that it can work. So we’ll stick to that,” said Nobbs. The new coach said that he doesn’t want a complete say in selection matters but would provide his input.