KEY POINTS:
Kevin Towns and the New Zealand women's hockey team flew to Shanghai yesterday for a five-test series but he sees it as anything but simply another step on the long road to the Beijing Olympics.
"I will be turning up the screws in these matches," said coach Towns who admits he is far from happy with results since the Black Sticks beat Australia 1-0 in Buderim on Australia's Sunshine Coast in October to grab the automatic Oceania qualifying spot at the Olympics.
In 10 internationals following that epic win, the national side have played 10 home tests - five against Korea, three against China and two against Ireland - for one win, one draw and eight losses.
In those games the Black Sticks have scored 15 goals and conceded 28.
Towns points out he chose to play these matches against teams ranked higher, or close to, New Zealand.
But that does not mask his frustration.
"I am very disappointed the girls let themselves down again when they were making progress from the Korean to Chinese series," said Towns. "They lost 4-2 in the last game against China but it was never a 4-2 game.
"But, against Ireland, the first test loss was far from acceptable performance. We can't take a step forward and then half a dozen back. To lose 2-1 against a team ranked 14th in the world was unacceptable.
"To be fair, we are struggling to find fit players but even so, at halftime against Ireland [in the first test], I did not know what to say."
Towns concedes it is difficult for "Joe Public" to accept results like this.
