Black Sticks hoping for funds

The Black Sticks men are crossing their fingers funding agency Sparc will look favourably on them after finishing seventh at the Olympics.

New Zealand Hockey received $5 million from Sparc in the last four year cycle of which $1.3 million went into high performance.

It was generally accepted that a top five finish in Beijing would see support continuing but seventh might cause a few furrowed brows at finding headquarters.

"It is so competitive for the sporting dollar and the higher you finish, the easier it is to stake your claim," New Zealand coach Shane McLeod said.

"My hope is that the people that are in the control of the purse strings recognise the ability of this group and that this is actually a time when we need more funding to keep up with those top four sides (Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Australia)."

New Zealand captain Ryan Archibald said everyone would be breathing easier had they finished a couple of spots higher.

"We needed to get a few more ranking points so it's disappointing and we know the reality, you don't get the money, but I would hope they recognise we are worth backing."

- © Fairfax NZ News