NEW DELHI: Sjoerd Marijne has made it clear that reputation alone will not secure a place in the squad, insisting that every player must earn her spot in what could be a decisive year for the India women's national field hockey team.

The Indian women are navigating a challenging phase. They missed out on qualification for the Paris Olympics, a major setback after their historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics under Marijne.

The team also failed to make the FIH Pro League last year and could not secure a World Cup berth via the Asia Cup route. Marijne, who stepped down after the Tokyo Games for personal reasons, returned earlier this year following the sacking of Harendra Singh amid a run of poor results.

India will now attempt to rebuild at the World Cup qualifiers in Hyderabad from March 8-14 under his leadership.

"We have brought in six junior players and I got to know them really fast. The moment I was appointed, I started watching junior women players' performance in the HIL...I was curious to know how they respond to training sessions with the seniors and that is going really well," Marijne told 'PTI Bhasha' in an interview.

"Seniors understand that past achievements don't count, and everyone has to fight for the spot. It's normal in team sport," he said when asked about how Tokyo Olympians are reacting to this approach.

Fitness rebuild under Wayne Lombard

Marijne acknowledged that the turnaround will take time but expressed confidence that the squad is steadily regaining peak fitness with strength and conditioning expert Wayne Lombard back on board.

"We are getting there with small steps at a time. When Wayne (Lombard) and I arrived, there were a lot of small injuries in the team. That obviously won't go overnight.

"We have to be very careful and take an individual approach. Some players need more time and some less and it is very important to get the freshness back," said the Dutch coach.

While his immediate target is revival, Marijne also has the Los Angeles Olympics in mind, though he admitted the journey will be demanding.

"We were underdogs in Tokyo but even today we are at number nine. The team didn't qualify for Paris Olympics and the Pro League. We are not in the top four in the world so again we have to come from far," he explained.

"When you don't qualify for the Olympics, your preparation for the next Olympics starts faster than the other countries participating in the Olympics. Belgium is an example. They didn't qualify for the Olympics but started working on a new process the next day and you can see where they are standing now," he added.

Focus on unity and mental conditioning

Marijne emphasised that beyond fitness, team chemistry and mental strength are central to his rebuilding plan.

"Fitness is one thing, bonding, getting to know each other and workload management are also important . I also have to know what these girls have learnt in the last few years, what worked and what didn't.

"Fitness levels cannot go up in four-five weeks and if we do too much, there would be a risk of injuries. Workload management is very important and luckily we have a very good support staff. I am happy that Wayne is back and guiding the process," he said.

He added that mental conditioning is a priority, as self-doubt can often hinder performance.

"Avoiding negative thoughts is important and it can't be done in one session, it's a process. We are working on it and hired someone for that. We do it with profiling so that players get to know themselves and their teammates much better. It also creates better unity," said the coach.

Asked about the emphasis on team unity, Marijne said it stemmed from feedback he received after returning.

"I have not been part of the process for the last few years and I cannot comment on what the previous coaches have done. One of the things I have noticed and the feedback I received is that this (team unity) is the thing which needs to be improved," said Marijne without divulging any further.

Though his immediate attention is on the World Cup qualifiers, Marijne is also targeting Pro League qualification and an Asian Games medal this year.

"I feel very jealous when I see other teams playing in the Pro League, so we have to qualify through the Nations Cup. I am not really worried about the short gap between the World Cup (August) and Asian Games (September-October), as we were in a similar situation in 2018 too," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)