CANTERBURY hockey captain Mel Clewlow has admitted that being left out of the Great Britain women’s squad has made her even more determined to be in Athens for the Olympics this summer.

Clewlow, 26, was this week recalled to the GB squad for next month’s final Olympic qualifer in New Zealand having been surprisingly omitted from the party which has just returned from Athens after finishing last in a four-team tournament there.

Clewlow, who has been an ever present both for England and GB for several years, was on the M1 heading for Lilleshall on Monday when she received a text message saying that players would be notified of the squad by email later that afternoon.

It meant a nerve-racking one-and-a-half hour wait before she was able to ring her housemate Moira Dryburgh to discover her fate.

Clewlow explained: “I’d just left home when I got the text saying selection would be forwarded by email. When I rang Moira I just said ‘Is my name on the list?’ and she replied Yes. My initial feeling was one of relief because you just never know with these things but I was also very happy to be involved again.”

A veteran of the 2000 Sydney Olympics Clewlow admitted that not being part of the team in Athens hurt but not one to sulk she responding by recording a personal best in her fitness tests.

“Being left out was probably a good thing for me. As a player you want to play in every game and be involved because there are some good characters in the squad and we have a good team spirit.

“I’ve never taken my selection for granted but there is a danger you can get into a routine, of looking at where you’re due to go and thinking you’re already there.

“Not being picked has given me the desire to keep playing and I know now more than ever that I’ve got to push myself in every session and every game.”

Clewlow is joined in the 18-strong squad for Auckland by Canterbury clubmates Anna Bennett, and Hilary Rose while Frances Houslop is among the reserves.

The squad face training camps at Bisham Abbey where they are also due to play a Test against Russia on Thursday, February 19 before heading for New Zealand on Monday, March 8.

Ranked No 1 for the tournament Great Britain are in the same pool as Ireland, Germany, the Ukraine and New Zealand.

South Korea, Spain, America, Japan and Russia contest the other group with only five of the 10 teams guaranteed to go through.