``Our coaches have the capability to lead the players. For this they need a good run and should not be changed and chopped at the drop of a hat,'' further said Balbir Singh, who scripted many an Indian win playing as a centre-forward, adding,``The foreign coaches can only study the videotapes and direct the players accordingly. They would be oblivious to the needs of the players, being unaware of our social system.''

``A foreign coach is like a baby sitter. He will take care of your needs but can he do what a grandmother can do?''

He was a key member of the London ('48), Helsinki ('52) and Melbourne ('56) gold winning hockey sides and said that the recent low in Indian hockey pains and heckles him constantly. ``We need to change our attitude if we hope to win medals at the international level. Our officials have to stop saying `reaching the semis or finishing among the top six is our target' before every tourney. Do these statements make any sense? Just say we have to win the championship, plain and simple. Rather than encouraging the boys they instill inferiority complex in their minds. Remember we are what we do. We have to make winning a habit.''

The former Punjab Sports Director, who was also the manager of the '75 World Cup winning Indian team (with Ajit Pal Singh as team skipper), now shuttles between India and Canada (where his three sons are settled). ``If given a chance I would love to coach the present team. We have the talent. It only needs proper channelistaion.'' He further felt that India's disappointing performance in the ongoing World Cup is due to a major selectorial goof up.

``Remember what we did in the '96 Atlanta Games. We recalled players who were over the hill and made them play. The result was another step backwards as far as development was concerned. On the contrary, they have blooded youngsters `en bloc' this time and pitted them against world class players.Further, they are carrying passengers alongwith, in the form of injured players,'' he said.

``Dhanraj is one player whose greatest asset is his speed. Normally he runs to the wings from his position of a centre-forward, but in this championship he is clearly struggling. The team is suffering as a result,'' he said. ``I don't know what pressure Dr Cruz was under to clear all the injured players.''

Balbir Singh, however conceded that the Europeans had indeed caught up with us, though at the same time our skills were also going down. ``Our passing, trapping, hitting, stopping, scooping all have gone down. The players are not putting in efforts as we did in our times. They should practice (individual skills) more and more and give it all they have. There is no reason why we cannot revive the glorious tradition of hockey in our country,'' he said, adding, ``I am writing a book on all these aspects and it will be released very soon.''

``The system is to blame for all the mess. Our national championship is obsolete. It has no competition as only four-five teams have been dominating ever since it began, though there are 30 odd affiliated units participating. We ought to have divisions and make the championship more competitive, '' he said.

``I idolized myself on the great Dhyan Chand. We shared many things in common -- he too was a triple Olympic gold medalist and a centre-forward -- but I would always be number two to him in value,'' said Balbir, who interestingly started as a goalkeeper, played at different positions before carving a niche for himself as a centre-forward. ``I can proudly recall that I scored nearly sixty per cent of the goals Indian team scored in my playing time,'' concluded Balbir who has celebrated 73 birthdays.