Hockey: Rutledge wavering over Black Sticks

New Zealand women's hockey coach Ian Rutledge appears ready to walk from the Black Sticks l ater this year.

Rutledge and his charges are in the Netherlands for Saturday's opening Champions Trophy match against Argentina, and it could be his last assignment with the Australian wavering on whether he'll re-apply when his four-year contract expires in October.

The Champions Trophy features the world's top-six teams, and after a disastrous six months, it will provide Rutledge with arguably his toughest test in what's been a harrowing year for the Black Sticks.

Hockey New Zealand chief executive Ramesh Patel told NZPA he preferred to keep Rutledge's intentions confidential until after the Champions Trophy, but intimated Rutledge was reluctant to lead the side into the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"His intentions would have been to have gone on, but I think given what's happened over the last few months, he's probably reassessing that and we've had some talks regarding that," Patel said.

After failing to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games, and the Black Sticks' capitulation in Rome where they failed to qualify for September's World Cup - the first time since 1994 - Patel admitted the results had impacted on Rutledge.

They were two key performance targets written into his contract, and the results ledger for 2006, which reads eight losses, seven wins and three draws was disappointing, Patel said

It seems fitting Rutledge finds himself in the Netherlands.

His last six months resemble that of the Dutch fable where the little boy puts his finger in a dike to plug a leak.

For Rutledge, all 10 digits have been frantically splayed to help stem a haemorrhaging Blacks Sticks side following a string of serious injuries, retirements, and a spat with star defender Lizzy Igasan who withdrew from the World Cup qualifiers and Champions Trophy.

Patel sympathised with Rutledge's situation having lost key players at crucial times, but said "we are results focused.

"There's no doubt about that. At the end of the day it would make things a lot easier if we had those two targets accomplished.

"Had that eventuated, the outlook would have been different to what we're currently looking at, and probably so would have Ian's."

Patel stressed that Rutledge had HNZ's full support, but "he was feeling the pressure and thinking where does he go from here".

Patel agreed that Rutledge, who guided the Black Sticks to the 2005 Champions Challenge title, had unfairly taken the full brunt of criticism directed at the side, and said the organisation and players also had to take responsibility.

"I think the team need to step up themselves because you can't excuse the players from all of this in terms of performance.

"There's obviously issues when your senior players in particular are out, but some of the performances (this year) weren't so good."

Looking ahead to the Champions Trophy, given the absence of leading players, HNZ were realistic about what could be achieved in the Netherlands.

Patel said gaining a draw or win off against one of the top-four teams -- Argentina, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands -- would be a bonus, while they aimed to beat the fifth ranked Chinese.

The Blacks Sticks secured their Champions Trophy spot after banking valuable ranking points over the past few years.

But if their world ranking drops below eight after either the Champions Trophy or September's World Cup, they would lose automatic qualifying for Beijing.

"When I saw them off at the airport, there was a real glint in their eyes," Patel said.

"A real buzz because you're playing against the best in the world and for the players, it's satisfaction you're playing against the best."

- NZPA