Bhubaneswar: The England men’s hockey team will embark on a new journey as they prepare to start under new coach Danny Perry – the 47-year-old’s first major assignment – when the hockey World Cup gets underway here at the Kalinga Stadium November 28.
“There has been quite a few changes since Danny came in. Some retired and some new faces came in. The playing style tweaked a bit trying to hold onto the grass and play with the ball,” forward Mark Gleghorne told reporters upon England’s arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport Friday midnight.
Danny, who was in charge of the England women’s team for 13 years replaces Bobby Crutchley, after he left his position in last September. Danny also led the womens to their first Olympic hockey gold medal at Rio 2016.
“We have always been a high intensity team and we will see how it goes with a quite a new team and a whole new system,” the 33-year-old forward added.
Gleghorne also spoke about the amount of positivity his teammate Barry Middleton brings in the dressing room. “Barry is a great guy. He is one of the greatest players the country has ever produced. With more than 400 games under his belt, the youngsters get benefitted the most. It’s really good to have him around,” Gleghorne who was a part of Punjab Warriors team in the Hockey India league said.
Speaking about their preparation, Gleghorne informed, “Preparations have been good and have played quite a few games before coming here. Obviously we will take one match at a time and make sure we top the group because that will give us the momentum going into the quarterfinals.”
England have been clubbed in Pool B and will face debutants China November 30 in their opener. Ireland and defending champions Australia are the other two teams in the group.