Bobby Crutchley, coach of the England men's hockey team has been in post for just over 18 months and, although he readily admits he is a hard man to please, he is relatively happy with the way his team's preparations are going. "We have had a horrible spate of injuries in the past few weeks," he said, "but all the players seem to be on the way back and hopefully they will all be in contention for the Hockey World Cup. We have had a good build up of matches and I have been very happy with the teams we have played. Now it is a question of getting the team to play with consistency throughout a match. And we definitely need to be a bit more clinical at the sharp end. When it comes to defending we are pretty frugal, and don't give much away, but we have to keep developing that. Having a good, solid defence is something that we need to take with us into the World Cup."

Strong tournament
As a former international himself with 80 caps to his name, Bobby knows just what to expect from World Cup hockey: "The thing with the World Cup is that it is just such a strong tournament. You have to look at each team and see them all as a threat. Spain have not had much international experience, but we always have really competitive games with them in the major tournaments, they have so many really good players in their team. As we face them first up, we won't have a lot of recent information on them, but we will have a good idea of how they will play generally." Conservative start
England play Spain, India and Belgium before they face the big guns of Australia in their World Cup pool. Could this be the chance for the team to get a bit of momentum? That could be the case, Bobby agreed, but as he points out, there is no team that will be a pushover. "Any team who is at the World Cup will be a good side," he said. Perhaps surprisingly, the England coach is hoping his team start the tournament conservatively. "With six teams in the pool, it is a long pool, so it is good to win early, but what you really want to do is win games without playing your best hockey early on. As Germany generally show, they rarely start strongly, but they always get over the line."

Roller coaster
When it comes to his own team, Bobby is expecting his old-timers, Barry Middleton and Ashley Jackson to step up and provide the experience and leadership, but he is also hopeful that other players will really make their mark in this tournament. "George Pinner in goal and Iain Lewers in defence are two players who can both have a real influence. We need all the guys to step up and, if they perform to their potential, we can have a great tournament. I'm really enjoying the role, we have some great people in the coaching and management team, and there has been quite a turnover in the squad, so the past few months have been a bit of a roller coaster, but I am really enjoying it."