Cullen urges measured approach to replacing captain Richardson-Walsh

Richardson-Walsh captained the team for 13 years culminating with a historic Olympic gold last summer.

The 36-year-old has since stepped away from the international scene although last week she was nominated for a place in the European Hockey Hall of Fame due to her achievements.

A successor has not yet been named for her for Great Britain and England with head coach Danny Kerry currently putting his new squad through their paces ahead of this summer's EuroHockey Championships.

And Cullen, who won bronze at London 2012 and gold at Rio 2016 alongside Richardson-Walsh, believes there is no need to rush an appointment, instead making sure the right person is equipped with the right tools to do the job.

"People need to stop being so transfixed on trying to recreate Kate and be a little bit more around what are the attributes that the individual group now needs and who from that group do they think they can draw on?" said Cullen, speaking at Crufts 2017, the world's largest dog show.

"Kate held the position for a very long time and had a very talismanic approach to the way in which she did her thing.

"She was also supported by a very experienced leadership group. Naturally, that to some extent is subsiding, both from a leadership group and as an individual captain.

"I don't think her position is easy to fill and I don't think someone should try to be her either. I think there are numerous personnel within the group who have no gathered experience through the Rio campaign and have some of the qualities which need to be nurtured into creating somebody who can lead.

"Whether it's an individual captain, co-captains, a group of leaders – all of that dynamic needs to be understood a little better.

"People like Hollie Webb, Giselle Ansley, Maddie Hinch are up there but you've got to be in a relatively central position.

"It's one thing being able to nail a performance as an individual, it's another leading a group and still being able to nail a performance."

Sportsbeat 2017