Hager surprised by intense scrutiny
Controversial former Black Sticks coach Mark Hager says he knows how Steve Hansen feels.
Hager quit as the Black Sticks women’s coach last month to take up a similar post with Great Britain.
He departed before an independent review into the environment inside the Black Sticks was released, but had been accused of being in charge of ‘‘a toxic culture’’.
A review was launched after it emerged that in August Hager mistakenly sent an email bagging players to the entire team.
The email was sent during the team’s World Cup campaign and was meant for team management only.
Hager didn’t stay around to face any consequences of the report, although his appointment with Great Britain has raised eyebrows.
The Australian, 54, has broken his silence and told Britain’s Daily Telegraph he found it a tough experience to go through and compared the scrutiny and negative comments to what’s faced by Hansen and England rugby coach Eddie Jones.
‘‘I’ve never experienced the media scrutinising me as an individual or even the programme,’’ Hager said. ‘‘I now know what it’s like for someone like Steve Hansen or Eddie Jones or professional football coaches who get scrutinised every day. It was a learning experience, especially for my family.
‘‘In the end we got through it and felt there’s not much we could control, but we could control how we moved forward and how we want to be with the team.’’
Hager said the situation was talked through with Great Britain Hockey when he went through his appointment process.
‘‘We both had discussions and have been upfront with each other all the way through,’’ Hager said.
‘‘You will get criticism in professional sport but I’m confident of my coaching abilities and how I talked to players and staff.
‘‘I like collaboration and I’m very trusting in people. We will have discussions around the pros and cons with my staff and players. Like I was as a player, I like being challenged and pushed to limits I thought I would never reach.
‘‘Hopefully, I can push them to reach boundaries they have never reached before, particularly the physical side, so when we are ready for the games we play a fast, high standard game.
‘‘In the end I saw it as an opportunity and now it’s a matter of getting GB prepared.’’