KARACHI, June 21 Michel van den Heuvel, Pakistan Hockey Federation's (PHF) newly-hired Dutch coach has said that he will be in a better position to give his comments regarding his strategy for the uplift of the national team only after he feels more settled here.

The coach, who joined the senior team on the first day of camp at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) on Monday, remained firm about keeping the media at an arm's length. His attitude even put the new team management comprising assistant coaches Olympian Ahmad Alam and International Ajmal Khan along with manager Manzoor Junior ill at ease as they too remained tight-lipped, refusing to speak to the press during the three hours of training session.

However, one did manage a few quotes out of the chief coach as he geared up for practice. Not so concerned about the sweltering Karachi heat, Heuvel said “The weather doesn't bother me. It is in such heat that you are able to show your mettle and give your best.”

When asked to answer just a few queries since “the press had come all the way to the club to speak to him”, he retorted “And I have come all the way for my boys. This is their time, so please ...”

Earlier, soon after landing at the Quaid-i-Azam International airport here in the wee hours of Monday, the chief coach stated that the Pakistan team still had a few great players in its ranks and there was a possibility for us to regain our lost glory for which he will be trying his level best.

Meanwhile, when the players were asked what they thought of their new chief coach and if they would be able to work with him for the next two years, one of them said “The question is will he be able to work with us!”

But showing faith in the coach's abilities, former skipper Olympian Shakeel Abbasi said “He has great credentials. I'm sure he'll be able to guide us to victory. It will be a pleasure to work with him.”

Agreeing with Shakeel, Olympian Rehan Butt added “I feel good things coming our way already. He seems like a very able fellow.”

Besides paying him a salary of Rs1.1 million a month, the PHF is also giving Michel van den Heuvel a freehand in team selection.

Speaking to Dawn about the matter of selection, Chief Selector Hanif Khan said “I will hear him out in that department as long as he makes sense along with presenting a good case before me for any player who I may have overlooked.”

The training camp concludes on July 6.

The 30 probables attending camp are Nasir Ahmad, Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Waseem Ahmad, Mohammad Rashid, Fareed Ahmad, Shafqat Rasool, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Zubair, Akhtar Ali, Mohammad Waqas Sharif, Mohammad Omer Bhutta, Salman Akbar, Kashif Ali, Mohammad Kashif Ali, Imran Butt, Imran Shah, Amir Shahzad, Mohammad Tauseeq, Abdul Qayyum Dogar, Zeeshan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (PIA), Kashif Javed, Tasawar Abbas, Shahbaz Ali and Ehsanullah.