Meredith’s stint as Irish senior men’s top coach ends by ‘mutual consent’

Andrew Meredith's tenure as Irish senior men's coach ended tonight by "mutual consent" following discussions with the Irish Hockey Association.

It ends his a 14-month spell as coach. The Australian, though, endured a tough spell with a reduced budget and limited access to full training panels with much of the Irish senior panel now spread across Europe.

He was signed with a hugely impressive CV, including two Olympic gold medals as Germany’s assistant coach.

During his time in charge, Ireland started with a superb third place at the Champions Challenge I in Buenos Aires in October 2012 but the side missed out on World Cup qualification last summer with a seventh place finish in World League round three.

During this time, he was regularly left without some key players, either through injury or unavailability due to work reasons.

Ireland just about survived relegation to the second tier of European hockey with a last-gasp 3-3 draw against the Czech Republic in August.

Mick McKinnon and Jonny Caren take over the panel on an interim basis.

On the horizon is a trip to Malaysia for the Champions Challenge I in April – a world ranking event.