As negotiations are going on about chief hockey coach Terry Walsh’s demands, the Australian says that he has been misunderstood on two major aspects — his work from his home base in Australia and the organisational adjustment to delegate specific authorities to appropriate individuals.
Besides, he expects to be financially rewarded for his good work, resulting in the improvement in performances of the National side.
Walsh’s contract is set to expire on Wednesday and the Sports Authority of India (SAI)-appointed committee is having its second round of meeting on Monday to find a solution to this impasse. The Aussie, who “enjoyed working with the great bunch of players,” is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the meeting.
In an exclusive interview with The Hindu on Sunday, Walsh sought to set aside some misplaced notions.
Walsh said he never demanded 120 days of paid leave in Australia. “It is incorrect. What I meant was working from my home base in Perth instead of working from the hotel room here when players are not in central training (camp). I can do much better work and spend some time with my family.”
MisconceptionThe Australian said it was a ‘misconception’ that he wanted to control certain things. Walsh, who has worked with several National teams around the world, said India should learn how sports administration worked in other countries and make adequate changes to its structure to delegate authorities to right people.
“The High Performance Director needs to control what he needs to control and what is required to control.”
“The concept I was suggesting was people must be knowing how sports administration works...It was about the overall organisation of the federation.”
The Aussie said rather than selection of players, the issue was “selection of personnel who can work with the programme.”
Walsh said he discussed these issues with Hockey India (HI) only on one occasion. “It was on the very first day when I resigned. There has been no discussion after that.”
The chief coach said SAI, on the other hand, was very comfortable with his ideas.
Walsh, who guided India to an Asian Games gold medal (and thereby a berth in the Rio Olympics), a Commonwealth Games silver medal and a sixth place finish in the World League Final, expected adequate financial rewards for his good showing. “I put the programme in place and it took the team to a strong position. That needs to be reflected in my salary,” said Walsh, the highest paid foreign coach employed by the SAI.
Despite the shortcomings in the system, Walsh appreciated the efforts put in by the players and expected good results from them in the Olympics. “They have the potential to achieve a top-six place in the Olympics and maybe an outside chance for a podium finish. But for that a huge amount of work is needed. And that involves not just working during the training, but also a lot of work which doesn’t take place on the pitch,” he said.
