Sjoerd Marijne keeps his job but sword of Damocles hangs on

Sjoerd Marijne remains the coach of the Indian men's hockey team. At least for the time being.

A day after Hockey India (HI) made a change in the leadership of the team by replacing PR Sreejesh as captain of the team in place of Manpreet Singh, there were indications that the head coach's job was also on the line following India's lacklustre show in the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast.

However, unlike many times in the past, HI has opted against a knee-jerk reaction as of now, especially since it was the federation's decision to give Marijne the reigns of the men's team after sacking long-time coach Roelant Oltmans barely about seven months ago.

That said, the proverbial sword of Damocles is still hanging on top of the Dutchman's head, with there being no surety about the axe not falling in the near future.

"As of now, we have kept things as it is, with the only change being in the captaincy of the team," a senior HI official said without wishing to be named.

"But that is not to say that Marijne is completely safe. His methods of coaching and selection policies have still left many of us unimpressed, which the senior players in the team have also conveyed. But we just did not want to be seen as pressing the panic button so soon after appointing him last September," the official added.

Marijne, who is currently in The Netherlands, is expected to join the national camp in the first week of May. The camp is currently underway in Bengaluru, but Marijne is held up at home due to some visa issues.

India's next major assignment is the Champions Trophy in Breda, The Netherlands, from June 23.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the HI high-performance director David John is also under fire for his questionable team selection.

It is understood that the Australian, predominantly a physiologist, had a large say in the selection of the side for the CWG and a few tournaments prior to it, where India fielded a number of youngsters without a lot of international exposure.

What's more, the side that boarded the flight to Gold Coast comprised a combination that had not taken the field together in any of the build-up tournaments prior to the Games, which showed in the performance of the team throughout the marquee event.

"The blame cannot be all on the coach. John has had a large say in the selection of the team, and he must also be held responsible for India's poor show," the official said.