WARSAW, March 31 (Xinhua) -- President of the Polish Ski Association Apoloniusz Tajner announced Thursday that Austrian Thomas Thurnblicher is very close to taking over Poland's ski jumping team as the coach is in advanced talks with the federation.

Thurnbichler came into the federation's sight after his compatriot Alexander Pointer turned down the offer to replace Michal Dolezal, who's fired due to unsatisfied results at the Beijing Winter Olympics where Poland only took a medal at normal hill through Dawid Kubacki.

"We know Thurnbichler wants to be successful in the international arena. This is in line with our expectations. We have the same objective. I'm sure that Thomas will show his professional attitude," Tajner said in an interview with Eurosport.

"He will give us fresh energy," the president added. "Even the older ski jumpers will take advantage of that. He is just 32, but his age doesn't matter."

However, some of the most experienced ski jumpers in the Polish team, like Dawid Kubacki and Kamil Stoch, supported Dolezal and openly criticized the federation for dismissing the Czech coach.

"I talked to Kamil. There were too many people in the squad, in the second year of Dolezal's work the best ski jumpers suffered because of that," Tajner concluded.

"It's important for us to improve the skills of the young Polish coaches. I think It will be possible thanks to the cooperation with Thurnbichler," he said, adding that Thurnbichler's contract will be valid until 2026. Enditem

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