Ireland hockey coach Cox will oversee side’s 2020 Olympic qualifying campaign

Alexander Cox and Hockey Ireland have confirmed the Dutchman will continue as Irish senior men’s coach on a longer-term basis, overseeing the 2020 Olympic qualifying campaign.

He took over the role in August 2018 on an interim basis following Craig Fulton’s surprise departure to Belgium, arriving with a glittering CV from club hockey in the Netherlands where he was also a national men’s and women’s assistant coach.

Fuller details on how long he has been signed up for will be confirmed next Wednesday at a Sport Ireland funding announcement.

For now, he says he is keen to “get back on the pitch together and working towards Olympic qualification”.

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Cox oversaw the World Cup campaign in December which ended in a group-stage exit in India, a frustrating 1-1 draw with China the defining result in their departure.

Positive

Nonetheless, the feedback from the players for the coach’s methods was largely positive given the short timeframe he had to work with the squad.

One lesson learned from the preparation phase is that more group sessions are likely to take place in Ireland. Pre-Christmas, the vast majority of camps took place in the Netherlands in midweek which led to a couple of players having to withdraw due to work commitments.

Olympians Peter Caruth and John Jackson are both back in the 30-man panel. Their agenda sees them play Japan in a two-game series in April, the USA twice in May, leading up to the Hockey Series Finals in June, the key tournament for their Tokyo hopes.

Ireland men's squad for 2019: David Harte (SV Kampong), David Fitzgerald (Monkstown), Mark Ingram (Rotterdam), Jamie Carr (Three Rock Rovers), Jonathan Bell (Lisnagarvey), Conor Harte (Racing Club de Bruxelles), Paul Gleghorne (Crefelder HTC), Luke Madeley (Three Rock Rovers), Stuart Loughrey (Reading), Matthew Bell (Crefelder HTC), Lee Cole (Oree), Stephen Cole (Oree), Shane O'Donoghue (KHC Dragons), Michael Robson (Crefelder HTC), Callum Robson (Annadale), Kirk Shimmins (KHC Dragons), Sean Murray (Rotterdam), Daragh Walsh (Three Rock Rovers), Chris Cargo (Hampstead & Westminster), Matthew Nelson (Lisnagarvey), Jeremy Duncan (Herakles), Eugene Magee (Banbridge), Owen Magee (Braxgata), Alan Sothern (La Gantoise), Ben Walker (Three Rock Rovers), Johnny McKee (Banbridge), Peter Caruth (Annadale), John Jackson (Bath Buccaneers), Julian Dale (Cork Harlequins), Neal Glassey (Crefelder HTC)