Hockey: Heberle warns players against complacency
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Your support makes all the difference.The England coach, Tricia Heberle, is hoping that the roller-coaster Champions Trophy campaign in Sydney will serve as a wake-up call to the players ahead of Great Britain's crucial Olympic qualifier next year.
The team finished fifth in the annual tournament for the the top-six ranked countries after a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over the Olympic silver medallists, South Korea. But they had to recover from three successive defeats, including a 5-0 hammering by Australia on the opening day.
Last weekend's success maintained England's world ranking of fifth but Heberle warned the players that they should not become complacent - especially with Olympic qualification at stake in Madrid in March.
"The way we played in the first few days was a huge concern. We came back strongly and did well against the Dutch [1-0] and China [2-2] and should have beaten Korea in normal time," Heberle said.
"There are some lessons to be learned. We had the lowest of the lows but at the end of it we felt satisfied, although there was also a sense of disappointment to get where we where - if we had beaten China we would have played off for the bronze medal - and not finish it off," she added.
"It is good to have a few hiccups before the Olympic qualifier because it will keep a few people humble and honest and make them work harder."
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