It may not have been the beginning he expected ahead of his first outing as chief coach of the Indian hockey team, but Spaniard Jose Brasa remains unperturbed.

“We have been trying to make the players strong enough to jump over any problem that may come in their way on and off the field, and we have to do the same thing ourselves. We have to jump over every problem,” he said here ahead of the team’s departure for a month-long European tour during which they will play 12 games across four countries.

Arriving straight from the airport after they had missed their flight from Pune early in the morning, the Indian team were witness to the unveiling of Hockey India’s new logo but it was the tour that dominated the discussion. And for those expecting instant results, Brasa made it clear that the team were not going on the tour to win matches.

“We are not at our peak right now; we are in the learning phase. For the Europeans, it is an important time, with the European Championships coming up, but for us this is only training and a learning tour. We are not looking at results. For us, the big moment will come in March next year (the World Cup),” Brasa said, adding that five weeks was no time to prepare a world-class team.

Hockey India officials sought to downplay the Pune incident, beginning the unveiling — delayed by three hours — with an apology and saying they would take up the issue with all parties concerned. They also said that, henceforth, there would be a manager with the team even during the camps. But, for most part, Brasa was the centre of attention.

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