For me, it is about bringing India back to where it belongs – top of world hockey: Graham Reid

Graham Reid is one of the many foreign coaches to have come to India and mentioned the term "process". A little over a month after taking over the role with the Indian men's hockey team, however, the Australian has an immediate task at hand. He has to ensure that India finish on top at the FIH Men's Series Finals in Bhubaneswar starting next week, a key event to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 55-year-old, who had his first outing with the team in a tour to Australia last month, has a chat with DNA on a range of topics pertaining to the team. Excerpts from an interview:

It has been over a month since you arrived in India. How has it been so far?

It's been really good. I've had a nice time getting to know the players and getting to know the cities. Really happy with the set up in Bengaluru (SAI centre), to be able to launch our Olympic campaign. And then Bhubaneswar, of course, it has been difficult for the people here at the moment (aftermath of Cyclone Fani). They've been going through so many problems, and it's nice to be able to come here and hopefully do something to lighten the load from them.

You've seen most of the Indian players from the opposition camp while working as assistant coach of the Dutch team. But how long does it take to know them in detail, not just as players but as human beings? And do you think you have a fair idea of that by now?

It's a good question, because I think connections with different people take different amount of time. We're all separate human beings, so for some people, it can take longer than others. But it's been interesting in the sense that you have perceptions about certain players from the outside, and then you see them from the inside. So, it's been really enlightening for me, to be honest.

What were your biggest takeaways from your first outing with the boys during the Australia tour?

We talked about being able to handle the pressure of playing against a really good team like Australia. It's not only the mental pressure but also physical pressure. And I think those two added together is what we took away from that tour. We spoke a lot about living in the moment, about focussing on the task at hand while not worrying about the outcome. That was more of the mental side of things.

Then there was the other part, which was about the physical aspect, and the younger players certainly felt that 'Oh gee, we really need to be bringing in this physicality into our local training'. I'm sure it has been happening but this probably gave them a real focus to understand that that's the level we need to be playing at. I think what we've seen over these last 2-3 weeks since returning from Australia is that we're now incorporating that more physical part to our training and understanding that we need to mark harder. Also, if we're doing that into our daily training environment, it makes our attackers and strikers much better at being able to handle that when it comes to the big occasions.

(Manpreet Singh sports new Indian teams’ match uniforms for both men’s and women’s FIH Series Finals)

You spoke about the level, and how the Australia tour gave you a glimpse of the level the team needs to play at. What is that level and how far is India from that at the moment?

It's difficult to say. On any given day, one team can be at its highest level and if you're even five per cent off on that day, the gap looks very big. But in reality, that isn't necessarily the case. Sometimes, we can look at those performances — like the last match against Australia (India lost 2-5) — and go, 'Oh, we have a long way to go'. And yet, on other days, we can go, 'Wooohooo, that's great'. So, it's a very difficult question to pinpoint as to how far that (level) is.

Rather than trying to worry about measuring, what I do know and can control is the ability to get better. That's what we're trying to focus on.

You mentioned about extremes in performances. Inconsistency has been Indian hockey's bane for a long time now. Why do you think that is? Is it more mental than skills, because skills cannot change overnight, right?

That's so true. The skills do not just disappear, they really don't. So, I think, what happens is we get off the task. You get distracted from what you're trying to currently do. And that distraction can come from a number of different ways: it can come from pressure from outside, from the crowd, from the way the opposition plays. All those things can come into account.

So, for me, consistency is about preparing the same way for each game, as a team and also individually. My plan is to analyse how each player prepares for a particular game, and are they doing the same each time.

I always tell the story about an Australian player — I won't name him — who could have a fantastic game one day and won't be as good the next day. And often, he would play very well in a big match or a final. But the problem is, you can't switch on and off. That's not the way with me, sorry. So, we spoke to him about his preparation and how it has to be at the same level for every game. There are some things, of course, that you can't control but the principles of every training should be the same.

That's from a playing point of view. From the other point of view, it's about trying to control your emotions. It's like, for example, a golfer comes out on a Saturday and scores eight-under and next day has five-over. For me, it's about having a four-under Saturday and a four-under Sunday through the tournament.

In short, let's not get too carried away with the wins, and, with the losses as well.

So, what you're saying is you prepare, for example, for an Olympic qualifier in the same way as you would prepare for a World Cup final?

Yes, exactly. And then, hopefully, if you do that, you put yourself in a position in a final or a really important game where you will get to test yourself and experience that. If you look at (2018 World Cup champions) Belgium, for example, they have lost a lot of finals over the last 3-4 years. And sometimes, that's what it takes for you to go, 'You know what, we're actually learning from this'.

And this is where you guys (media) come in too. It's about a process, and I know the problem in India is that we're always looking for a result...

A magic wand, actually...

(Laughs) Yeah. And look, I totally get it. But for me, it's about bringing India back to where it really belongs — at the top of world hockey.

What are the few major areas that you feel requires maximum and immediate attention?

At both ends of the pitch, to be honest. From an attacking point of view, the way we enter the circle, our spacings in the circle, creating as many options as you can to score goals. And for that, you need to have that goal-scoring ability, and we're working a lot of things like shooting from different areas in the circle.

On the defence, it's about getting pressure on the ball, and ensuring that we do it on all areas of the pitch. And to do that, you need to be able to tackle, and we're working a lot on our one-on-one tackling and creating pressure on the ball. These are the simple things that we're working on, and then there are the tactical things that we will always be tinkering around with. It's a living, breathing beast.

How crucial is it that India makes a statement in the upcoming FIH Men's Series Finals leading up to the Olympic qualifying event later in the year?

The important part is, as I said, we take each game as it comes. I feel as though I'm a broken record with that at the moment (laughs). But it has to be the message that we take away. The result will look after itself if we focus on what we need to do now. That's my message to the players, and to the world, if you like.

Obviously, coming in the top-two will help our world rankings, and will help us be higher in that 14-team competition later in November.

Why Series Finals is key

• The FIH Men's Series Finals starting in Bhubaneswar from June 6 is an important qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Games
• The top two teams in the tournament will secure a berth at the FIH Olympic qualifiers to be held in October and November
• Teams are: India (World Ranking: 5), South Africa (WR:16), Japan (WR:18), Poland (WR:21), Russia (WR:23), USA (WR:26), Mexico (WR:39) and Uzbekistan (WR:55)