KUALA LUMPUR: Brendan Carolan has been appointed head coach of the national hockey team, having previously served as the national team’s assistant coach.
The South African Carolan will replace Sarjit Singh, whose contract was not renewed.
Carolan previously worked under Paul Revington of South Africa as an assistant with the Ireland national field hockey team, and also served as interim head coach.
He was part of the coaching setup alongside A. Arulselvaraj during his earlier stint with the national side.
"We are not extending Sarjit's contract," said the Malaysia Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
"He has been with the team for two years and has made significant sacrifices. He has done what he could, and we are grateful for his contributions."
Sarjit led the team for World Cup qualification but the overall performance had not been satisfactory. They lost 4-5 to Japan in the third-place playoff against Japan but only made the cut by being the higher-ranled team in fourth.
Subahan said the MHC board felt that they needed a new head to improve their performances for the World Cup in Holland and Belgium in August and the Asian Games in Japan in September.
"After reviewing the overall situation and with the Asian Games being the most important target, the executive board felt a change was necessary to bring something different to the team," said Subahan.
"The board has opted to appoint Brendan, with limited time remaining before major assignments.
"We have only six months before the Asian Games and two months before the Nations Cup.
"After discussions with national team committee chairman Datuk Manjit Abdullah and considering all views, it was a final and unanimous decision to bring Brendan in," added Subahan.
