Kerry starts countdown to London 2012

By Holly Hamilton, Sportsbeat

GREAT BRITAIN coach Danny Kerry believes the countdown begins now as his squad take up the challenge of reaching the podium at London 2012.

BRIGHT FUTURE: Great Britain coach Danny Kerry is confident his side can upset the odds and pick up a medal at London 2012 (Getty Images)

The women are currently ranked seventh in the world and have lined up two matches with world number three China next week to see just how much they need to do to match the best teams.

But in their last competitive games - a series of five against Argentina in December - they won only one and know they need to improve if they are to break into the top three in just over two years' time.

And Kerry is already in the process of fine-tuning the squad he thinks will have the best chance of success at their home Olympics in 2012.

"We will be using a large number of players against China so I can look at as many of them as possible and so that more of them can get the experience of playing one of the top teams in the world," he said.

"If all of the players go out there and perform at their best then there is no reason why we can't defeat the Chinese.

"All the top nations look to be playing other top teams as often as possible but it is difficult without the resources to travel globally on a regular basis.

 "Always as a coach you have certain players that you think will definitely be in your squad but everything can change very quickly with injuries and the like.

"It would be foolish for any player to take their place for granted but they will know already if they have a chance of making the final 16 for 2012.

"At the Champions Trophy in July there are world ranking points at stake and I will want to have a more finalised squad by then, ahead of the World Cup and Commonwealth Games which are taking place in the weeks and months after that."

The coach has plans in place to get his players ready for the hype that will inevitably come from competing at their home Games and wants to spend time with their families preparing them for what to expect during such a big tournament.

And with the perfect preparations, Kerry is confident that his team can reach new heights and upset the odds to take capture a medal in front of 15,000 fans at the temporary Hockey Centre to be constructed in the Olympic Park.

"The Champions Trophy being in this country means invaluable experience for the players in terms of competing in front of their friends and family," he added.

"The last time they got the chance to do that was at the Europeans in 2007 and although it won't be anything like the atmosphere at the Olympics, it will be useful.

"From the summer we will only be two years out and all focus must switch fully to the Games.

"We have the capacity to outperform our ranking and we are training with the aim in mind of picking up a shiny medal.

"We will be competing there to be as good as we can and we believe we will be one the best teams in the world."