Newly appointed Hong Kong coach Tony Gillon said the Hong Kong Asian Games squad had a lot of work ahead of them, but four months was 'fair time' to whip them into shape before they head to Bangkok.
Gillon had his second training session in charge of the 25-man Hong Kong squad at the King's Park Hockey Ground yesterday and admitted that the team needed to improve their basic skills, their competitiveness and their playing style.
'Four months is enough time to develop the team's toughness and to make them more effective,' said Gillon, who is on a 4.5-month contract with the Hong Kong Hockey Association to take the Hong Kong team to the Asian Games in December.
'How they want to do in Bangkok will depend on how dedicated they can be.
'We'll be training four times a week and, apart from pitch training, I will also be introducing weight training,' added the 42-year-old Australian coach.
Gillon, who last year coached his club, the Melbourne Redbacks, to the semi-finals of the Australian National Hockey League championship, broke off his contract as coaching director of the Victoria Hockey Association, where he was contracted until the end of the year, so that he could coach here.
