Aikman wants defenders, goalkeepers to raise their game

KARACHI: Pakistan head coach Siegfried Aikman has said that the team is passing through a rebuilding and learning process and will convert soon into a formidable side after playing against strong teams.

“Ups and down will come but the boys are talented, energetic and passionate for learning and improving their game,” he told ‘The News’ before leaving for South Africa, where the Greenshirts will participating in the Nations Cup, starting from November 28.

He said that weaknesses identified in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup were addressed during the short training camp for Nations Cup.

The head coach said Pakistan defenders are weak and there is need to work hard to consolidate the defence. “Let’s see how they perform in South Africa,” he said.

“The forwards are playing aggressive game which benefited Pakistan in many ways,” he said and pointed out that Pakistan got 13 penalty corners against South Africa in Malaysia. “It means that our forwards are playing well. They were continuously attacking and gaining penalty corners but these were not converted into goals. It was because of inexperience,” said Aikman.

“Our forwards and drag flickers are scoring goals -- they scored 9 goals in last two matches in Malaysia -- but they should perform even better,” he said.

He further said that there is need to work hard with the goalkeepers. “They need to improve further keeping in mind the strong teams of Europe,” he said.

He said that Nations Cup would be a tough event. “All teams in our pool are good and balanced sides but Pakistan will perform better than they did in Malaysia recently,” he added.

“In Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, teams were higher ranked than us. They were far more experienced in international hockey. Our boys are young. Nine of them made their debut in international hockey in Malaysia, but we played well and gave tough time to all rivals and managed to win the bronze medal,” Aikman said.