KUALA LUMPUR: Newly appointed national men's hockey team head coach Sarjit Singh was asked a hard question today in his first press conference.
Will he call up seniors like penalty corner drag flicker Razie Rahim, captain Marhan Jalil and forward Fitri Saari for national training?
With the adroitness that he wielded his hockey stick when he was the national captain (from 1987 to 1993), Sarjit responded: "If you take them, then people will criticise you because they are past their prime.
"And if you take junior players, then hockey fans will criticise you because they don't have the experience."
That's an ambivalent reply from the man entrusted with getting the weakly national team back on their feet.
But the target set by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) for Sarjit is clear enough - lead Malaysia to the gold at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, which will qualify the team for the 2028 LA Olympics.
Sarjit, 61, has been given a two-year contract by the MHC to achieve the mission of getting Malaysia back to the Olympics after 24 years.
Sarjit said he will need 14 to 18 months to rebuild the Speedy Tigers - who played like pussycats - at the recent Olympic qualifier in Muscat, Oman.
Expect Sarjit to go for a mixed national team of youth and veterans as he calls up 42 players.
"Of course we want to give opportunities to young players who can do the extra for us. They are the future of our hockey.
"We also need some senior players who have the experience and expertise to support the younger players.
"We have many players playing for Malaysia but do they really have experience in playing at international level?
"I can only talk about the material that we have. I go in as a coach and only after 14-18 months, I will be able to answer.
"We have experienced seniors who had played a lot of international matches and have about 300 caps. But I need to talk to them to know whether they can last in playing in matches and whether they can last another two years."
Sarjit, who was announced on Sunday as the head coach, said he will be helped by two local assistant coaches and one goalkeepers' coach.
"If I need the help of a consultant, then I will request for it," said Sarjit.
Sarjit's first assignment will be the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh from May 4-11 followed by the Nations Cup in Poland (May 31-June 9) and Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia, China (Sept 8-17).
Sarjit, who played in two Olympics, in 1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona, said: "I acknowledge the big challenges I will face as the national head coach.
"We cannot talk about changes in the team now. First we need to assess our team and be realistic about how far is the gap between our national team and the top teams in the world. "We have to look at the European teams. Assessment is very important and where do we stand against them," said Sarjit, who was also the national coach from 2007 to 2008.
"It will take 14 to 18 months to prepare a solid team and only after that, we can assess the direction of the team."