Long admits World Cup and Commonwealths crucial to London 2012 hopes

KATIE Long says the England women's hockey team need to get used to standing on the podium as they prepare for two major competitions.

ON THE UP: Katie Long believes the next few months will be crucial for England with the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games (Getty Images)

With less than two years to go until the London 2012 Olympics, Long says her bronze medal at the recent Champions Trophy - sealed with a 2-1 win against Germany - could not be better timed.

No England women's team had ever finished higher than fifth at the Champions Trophy and the 2009 campaign saw Long and co end bottom of the pile.

But while quick to insist the performance in Nottingham was a watershed moment, Long has stressed that the hard work starts now, with the World Cup beginning on Sunday and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, for which Long will be a travelling reserve, in October.

"It was absolutely fantastic to get a bronze medal at the Champions Trophy," said Long.

"We have been centralised as Great Britain since last October and it's been a long old graft, so it was really nice to get out and actually have a tournament.

"What is important now is with London 2012 in mind, we now keep improving and keep working hard and take the form we showed in the Champions Trophy into the World Cup.

"We have had so many meetings about our ultimate goal, which is London 2012, and the aim is quite clear really - we want to win gold.

"We have still got two years to go and took a massive step forward with our results at the Champions Trophy, especially considering the very poor result we had there last year.

"As England, we have taken massive leaps forward. It is really, really exciting and there is a lot of confidence in the team that we can do well."

Long was given some well-earned time off on the back of their Champions Trophy exertions but the 22-year-old returned for two friendlies against the USA last week.

And with the World Cup in Rosario, Argentina beginning tomorrow, Long believes the squad have what it takes to prove their Champions Trophy medal was no fluke.

"We are a very, very ambitious side now and we have proven what we can do in the Champions Trophy," she added.

"We are confident we can get a podium finish.

"Everything has come on a lot since Beijing. We have got a very young squad now with quite limited experience but we got that winning feeling at the Champions Trophy and we'd love to keep that going at the World Cup."

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