Bobby Crutchley kept on an England Hockey's head men's coach

England Hockey confirmed that Crutchley took over as head coach after Danny Kerry moved from the men's job to the women's role after London 2012.

Team GB failed to reach the Olympic quarter-finals in Rio this year but, following a thorough, independent review process into the first full-time men's central training programme, England and Great Britain Hockey unanimously decided Crutchley was the man for the job.

The 46-year-old admitted to a "difficult few months" since Rio but, with the new centralised training squad set to be announced in December, and UK Sport's decision on the men's funding level for the next Olympic cycle also due, Crutchley said he is ready for the next four years.

"We're obviously devastated that we didn't get near where we wanted to in Rio despite a lot of hard work," he said.

"The review process has been very comprehensive and tough. We've really delved into how we could have done better.

"It's been a difficult experience, but also rewarding and will set us up well moving forwards.

"There's been a lot of soul searching for me personally but I am feeling excited and hungry to achieve medal success over the coming years."

Crutchley's tenure in the past four years saw the men's side finish third in the 2012-13 World League, before a win over Australia in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, which led to a fourth-place finish overall.

Another fourth place followed in the 2015 EuroHockey Championships, as well as in this year's Champions Trophy, and performance director Ed Barney is confident Crutchley can help the men emulate the Rio success of their female counterparts.

"I am delighted that Bobby is staying on. I absolutely feel he is the right person to lead our men's programme moving forward," he said

"We conducted a thorough review and there are a number of learnings from the last four years. Without doubt, Rio was hugely disappointing for both the staff and the players in the men's squad.

"As an organisation we are absolutely clear that there can be no compromise on our goals.

"We do not accept a lack of medal-winning performance looking forward; I have no doubt that Bobby is the right man to deliver international success in the men's programme."

Next year will see Crutchley and his side take on the Hockey World League semi-final, as it comes to London, as well as the EuroHockey Championships, in Holland. Sportsbeat 2016