July 8, 2023: As a prime example of expertise, Coach Fulton points out changes that are necessary for an improved performance. Read on to find out how he guides the Indian team towards a successful league…
Only four games have passed since Craig Fulton took over as coach of the Indian men's hockey team.
The squad started the FIH Pro League mini event in London with two straight defeats, but they rallied to defeat Belgium and secure a victory and bonus point against the hosts following a shootout victory.
Who is Coach Craig Fulton?
A former player of the South Africa men’s field hockey international from 1996 to 2004, he has previously coached the men’s team of Ireland (2006-2009; 2015-2018), both men’s and women’s teams of South Africa (2011-2014) and the men’s team of Belgium (2018-2020).
Fulton won the FIH Coach of the Year in 2015 and was the assistant coach of Belgium when they won the 2018 FIH Hockey World Cup and Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
Craig Fulton, who has nearly 25 years of coaching experience replaced Graham Reid, who had resigned following India’s failure to reach the quarter-finals of the FIH hockey World Cup.
The coach noted that the squad would need to focus on its defence in the coming days despite the improved performance over the second weekend at a virtual news conference, prior to the commencement of another Pro League mini tournament in The Netherlands on Wednesday. India handed up four goals and 15 penalty corners in their most recent game against Great Britain.
"There was a much-improved defensive performance compared to the first weekend. It then put us on the front foot to score more goals which was evident in the first Belgium game. The mentality was also strong, the team spirit was good and that helped to get through in a tough second match against GB," said Fulton on Tuesday.
"Even if things aren't going our way we still want to defend and score and we did that. We still need to improve a few areas and it's going to take a little bit of time. We want to keep an Indian style of play which has a lot of flair and attacking hockey, but it doesn't help if you can't defend. So, we need to make sure we get that right and it will take a bit of time."
The players will have much more time to train on defence and other areas as India will face Argentina and The Netherlands twice in another Pro League mini event from June 7–11 in Eindhoven. The coach doesn't want to work on anything new at the present, except from these upgrades.
"I only want to test the player combination. We have a style of play that we definitely strive to adhere to and refine. We aren't quite where we want to be. But many oppositions present us with various difficulties. Then, we'll be aware of those difficulties and have a strategy in place, said Fulton. The coach also said, "We'll also strive to play our own style and make sure we develop better and better with each game."
In terms of lineups, the coach is more than delighted to play Manpreet Singh at the back and intends to keep him there for the remaining four games.
"Obviously, when Manpreet plays at the back, space in the midfield is opened up for someone else. It also takes up space at the back, but we are glad to do so because of the contributions he makes to the game both defensively and offensively once we have our strategy in place. He is performing well there, the South African remarked.
The coach made it clear that nothing is definite about the roster for the crucial Asian Games yet and that it would all rely on the upcoming four games as well as the journey to Spain.