MHC Executive Board might name coach...

THE Malaysian Hockey Confederation’s (MHC) second  Executive Board meeting today would discuss a myriad  of  issues, with the most crucial being the appointment of a  foreign coach.
   Also hot on the agenda would be the calendar, as MHC have  to juggle tournaments in the Malaysia Hockey League, the  Sultan of Johor Cup, the Champions Challenge I, Razak Cup  and the 2013 Asia Cup.
    And then there is also the proposed attachment of juniors  for overseas leagues.
    If the calendar is not done properly, there would again be  the conflict of club versus country, and not to mention the  difficulty in releasing junior players for overseas attach ments if they clash with the local and international tour naments.
    “Yes, there are so many things to discuss and iron out in the  meeting. The coaches appointment would also be touched,  and maybe a solution will be found at the end of the meeting,”  said MHC secretary Johari Aziz.
    Current national coach Tai Beng Hai might find himself as  the Director of Coaching, or coaching the age-group.
    The front-runner among the foreign coaches is Paul  Revington of South Africa, who last coached the Irish team to  the silver medal in the Dublin Olympic Qualifier.
   And he might just being in his trusted lieutenant Arul  Selvaraj, a former Malaysian international who was assistant  to Paul in Ireland.
   The other possible candidate to replace Beng Hai is  Australian Paul Gaudoin.
    The calendar discussion could turn out to be sticky, as MHC  moved the Razak Cup to September, and the Malaysia Hockey  League can only start after that.
     And in November while the Juniors play in the Sultan of  Johor Cup, there is an overlapping with the senior side for the   Champions Challenge 1 in Argentina.
    And if the calendar is not drawn out right, it could turn out  to be a messy affair as club versus country, and local  tournaments versus overseas attachments could turn into a  bloody battle.