This bunch is not burdened by the past, says Michael Nobbs

Chief hockey coach Michael Nobbs is still bemused by the question that tripped off everybody's tongue once India qualified for the Olympics earlier this year: "Will we win a medal?" Nobbs feels a top-six finish may be possible with a bit of luck.
At the same time, he also acknowledges that the new blue turf in London, the weather and lack of enough preparatory matches will dictate India's progress in the Olympic hockey tournament.
But as is his wont, Nobbs would rather control the controllables. He is pleased with the progress on the fitness front, in the players' commitment and the way they have come around to his ideas. Excerpts...
How well have you understood the players? Has the team understood your priorities?
Reasonably well, and they me. It's been a good learning curve from both sides. We are all very focused on what our goals are. Initially the team didn't seem to understand my way because of too many distractions. They were too steeped in their problems that they couldn't focus on what really was important.
Are there specific instances which narrate how the team began to share your views?
I test them regularly, tempting them with alternatives to see how they react. Regarding WSH for instance, I told them, 'You are all adults, you can make your own decisions. Do you want to play for your country, or for yourself and your friends? If you want to play WSH, that's your choice. I am sure there are many others who will take your place. They then began to see that I am not one to bargain with and that my views are in the best interests of the country, and also themselves as I don't have a secret agenda.
Have you had heart-to-heart conversations with them in the past?
Many times, young people make mistakes. I am not one to destroy careers, but to try and build their careers. Sometimes I need to be very firm and it looks very harsh to them, but I have been there and experienced all the same myself and know the solutions they need to apply.
What is the most significant aspect which emerged out of these conversations?
Honesty from both sides, knowing that the games they used to play don't work and there is no need to play them.
Are you worried by the fear of failure?
Yes, of course. Sport is sport and it's so unpredictable at times, you can only prepare as well as you can and sometimes just hope it all works out. I would hate to see all the hard work everyone has done in the last year to try and resurrect hockey in India go down the drain with a poor result. People's expectations are extremely high, forgetting that we are ranked 10th in the world and due to a systemic breakdown over years it's a difficult problem to fix. When I first came to India everyone said, 'Forget where we could come at the Olympics, we need to qualify.' The first question I was asked afterwards was, 'What medal will we win?' Strange!
How about the players, especially after not having made it to the Games four years ago?
No. This is a new crop of players and they are not burdened by the past. They want to make their own future.
Has the team's inconsistency bothered you? Indians can be mercurial, temperamental...
Yes. But any team is like that. We are certainly getting better all the time. And I haven't found them to be temperamental. The main thing we need to do is keep playing the top teams a lot more and we will keep improving.
How have the players shaped up mentally? Indians normally get overawed by the opposition on the big stage.
The games we have played in the last year have been carefully thought out to bring the required preparation to help us build a team. They certainly aren't overawed. If anything, they are maybe a little overconfident as we are playing better and improving all the time. David and I have both worked very hard to bring about a change in culture that they wanted but didn't expect.
As we head for the Olympics, what is it that concerns you most?
Some problems in playing style that we are still working on, and time may be our enemy. We have to get more goals, more penalty corners. We also need to understand that we ought to convert as many circle penetrations into goals. Our general field play now matches the top teams. We have no fear that we can't perform consistently against the top teams. The only thing left is our finishing and not being more aware of the time in the last part of either halves to be more controlled. Another concern is that we haven't had enough matches against top teams, particularly on the blue pitch, which would have helped. It was good to have played at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh. We are playing on the blue turf at Santander too. They were different in that the London turf was slippery. But I am confident the boys will do well.
What worries you the least?
The players will give their best at all times for the right reasons. When they walk off the track in the last game, whatever the result they will have given everything they can give for themselves and India.
Has criticism of poor performance worked?
Yes. Sometimes players need to be reminded that they represent the people, not just themselves.