Ferocious England aim for World Cup of Hockey riches under coach Revington

The England men will undertake a ‘ruthless’ brand of hockey in their bid to lift a first-ever World Cup trophy, according to performance manager Ed Barney. The ongoing FIH World Cup live going in India and very exciting.

England also changed tack from the 2018 edition when they took on their own chef and hired a restaurant after experiencing health issues in Odisha.

“Some of our concerns have shifted from an environmental perspective,” Barney said.

Instead, England officials have spent “more time and energy” securing their preferred hotel in Bhubaneswar and for later in the tournament when they hope to progress to the knockout stages. They have already scored a small victory by landing their hotel in town.

England landed in India on Friday and spent several days acclimatizing in Bhubaneswar before moving to Rourkela where they will stay in the sports complex adjacent to the new stadium.

Barney said the England coaches have been trying to bring the team to a different plateau since they have been together since the fall, interspersed with duties related to the UK schedule.

“We pushed hard, turning the screw from a volume intensity perspective and took the team to a different level,” Barney said.

“We are confident that we have started to see the fruits of that in Argentina playing against the two best teams in the world.

“At the end of the day, those games had a close element with the possibility of falling on either side, but what’s nice is that three of four of those games that we managed to come out of on the right side, with an element to be ruthless and relentless.”

Should England reach the final stages of the World Cup, Paul Revington’s side will hope to cross the line in matches that will get nervous and difficult.

The Commonwealth Games semi-final against Australia comes to mind.

“We’re trying to apply attention to detail in various areas of the field that will provide more of those medal moments or transitions to finals,” Barney added. “Our World Cup record is a great opportunity to make history.”