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Charlesworth not sure on Hockeyroos gig

Justin ChadwickAAP
Ric Charlesworth is contemplating applying for the vacant Hockeyroos head coaching job.
Camera IconRic Charlesworth is contemplating applying for the vacant Hockeyroos head coaching job.

Master coach Ric Charlesworth is yet to decide whether to apply for the top job at the Hockeyroos, saying his uncompromising coaching style could end up being misconstrued as bullying.

The Hockeyroos are on the lookout for a new coach after Paul Gaudoin quit on Wednesday following the release of a damning independent report into the "dysfunctional culture" within the elite women's hockey program.

Hockey Australia chief executive Matt Favier said Charlesworth was one of a number of "wonderful" candidates that would be considered to take over.

Charlesworth is Australia's most decorated hockey coach, leading the Hockeyroos to Olympic gold in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), before enjoying a successful six-year stint as coach of the Kookaburras.

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But the 69-year-old said his uncompromising style - which would include telling players straight up if their performance wasn't good enough - might not sit well with the current Hockeyroos player group.

"I don't know how you get people to (reach their potential) without challenging them. If that's bullying, then I'm out of my time," Charlesworth told AAP.

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"I'll tell them you'll train four times a week to exhaustion, and you'll have to discipline yourself in your personal life to be totally focused on getting the best outcome for yourself at the major competitions.

"And sometimes, I'm going to have to give you bad news, and sometimes I'm going to have to say you didn't do that well enough. Sometimes I'm going to say that you've been putting on weight and that affects your performance.

"It seems to me they are all the things that upset this group. Being an elite athlete at that level - wanting to aspire to be an Olympic or World Champion - is uncomfortable, and difficult, and stressful.

"Sometimes things will go wrong and you won't get selected.

"So you lob in there and that's the message on the first day - do you want to be in this or not? Maybe that means that I'm from another era. But as I understand it, that's what I did and I did it pretty well.

"My formula would be as I described it, and it seems to be that's almost the reason that we're in this situation."

Charlesworth also cited his age as a potential barrier.

"I'm in my late 60s. You're not as agile, or as sharp as you were," Charlesworth said.

"That's why (former Manchester United coach) Alex Ferguson stopped coaching, and Mick Malthouse is not coaching now.

'You do have a shelf life."

Former Hockeyroos star Katrina Powell, who won two Olympic gold medals while playing under Charlesworth, has been mentioned as a strong candidate to take over as coach.

Interim coach Katie Allen could also be in the running to land the gig full-time.

Charlesworth labelled both Powell and Allen as competent coaches, but said they would need adequate support if either one of them was offered the head coaching role.

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