Irish Hockey Association chief executive Mike Heskin admits change at the top was necessary to keep Ireland’s senior men’s bid for Olympic qualification on track.
Ireland coach Andrew Meredith’s 14-month reign came to an end “by mutual consent” in an announcement last Friday night.
While Meredith – who was previously assistant coach to double Olympic gold medallists Germany – had some success early on with a bronze in the Champions Challenge I in Argentina, Ireland subsequently struggled.
A seventh-placed finish at the World League 3 saw them miss out on World Cup qualification, while a promising European championships campaign ended with an unseemly relegation battle that the green machine narrowly escaped from.
Senior players privately took issue with Meredith’s public criticism of them, as well as his stated preference for the squad to base themselves in Ireland while he commuted to the job from his home in Hamburg, Germany.
With qualification for Rio 2016 the primary goal after a near miss under Paul Revington in 2012 – losing 3-2 to Korea with the winner coming less than 10 seconds from time in the decisive qualifier – Heskin explained the decision to part company with Meredith came about with that aim in mind.
“We were performing quite well, but we were not gelling,” he said. “We were moving forward from month to month but we weren’t getting the momentum needed to move on to the next level.”
Reviews of the senior men’s programme yielded requests for Meredith spent more time in Ireland viewing players in club and international action. While he fulfilled this brief, attending league games in Leinster and Ulster as well as taking in the boys’ interprovincials, spending time away from his family in Germany proved a strain.
“When we reviewed in the summer at areas that needed improving, that was part of it. As you saw, there was a response and he was in Ireland much more in Ireland in the latter part of autumn.
“That was causing issues, though, as he has a young family and is not married that long so it was difficult from his perspective.”
Meredith also lamented the lack of finances at his disposal relative to Ireland’s competitors, although Heskin stressed this was “a factor, but was not a major consideration and was not a deal-breaker”.
He added that the timing of the change allows Ireland to find a replacement – Mick McKinnon and Jonny Caren are taking temporary charge while the recruitment process will begin in January – and build for the future with 2014 set to be a quieter year for the side. Meredith oversaw four high-stakes tournaments in the first 10 months of his reign, but April’s Champions Challenge I in Malaysia is the sole world ranking competition for Ireland next year.
A seventh-placed finish at the World League 3 saw them miss out on World Cup qualification, while a promising European championships campaign ended with an unseemly relegation battle that the green machine narrowly escaped from.
Senior players privately took issue with Meredith’s public criticism of them, as well as his stated preference for the squad to base themselves in Ireland while he commuted to the job from his home in Hamburg, Germany.
With qualification for Rio 2016 the primary goal after a near miss under Paul Revington in 2012 – losing 3-2 to Korea with the winner coming less than 10 seconds from time in the decisive qualifier – Heskin explained the decision to part company with Meredith came about with that aim in mind.
“We were performing quite well, but we were not gelling,” he said. “We were moving forward from month to month but we weren’t getting the momentum needed to move on to the next level.”
Reviews of the senior men’s programme yielded requests for Meredith spent more time in Ireland viewing players in club and international action. While he fulfilled this brief, attending league games in Leinster and Ulster as well as taking in the boys’ interprovincials, spending time away from his family in Germany proved a strain.
“When we reviewed in the summer at areas that needed improving, that was part of it. As you saw, there was a response and he was in Ireland much more in Ireland in the latter part of autumn.
“That was causing issues, though, as he has a young family and is not married that long so it was difficult from his perspective.”
Meredith also lamented the lack of finances at his disposal relative to Ireland’s competitors, although Heskin stressed this was “a factor, but was not a major consideration and was not a deal-breaker”.
He added that the timing of the change allows Ireland to find a replacement – Mick McKinnon and Jonny Caren are taking temporary charge while the recruitment process will begin in January – and build for the future with 2014 set to be a quieter year for the side. Meredith oversaw four high-stakes tournaments in the first 10 months of his reign, but April’s Champions Challenge I in Malaysia is the sole world ranking competition for Ireland next year.