England Hockey were still waiting on detailed safety plans from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) regarding hotel and transportation in the Indian capital for the two-week tournament, which starts on February 28.

Though England foresee no specific reason why they will not travel, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises that a "high general threat from terrorism" exists throughout India, although two delegations from the Metropolitan Police have declared New Delhi as safe for both the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, which are due to open on October 3.

England's Ashley Jackson maintained that the European champions will continue to prepare professionally for one of the most lucrative events on the hockey calendar.

He said: "Yes, of course [security] is discussed.

"We speak about it regularly as a squad, with the management and all the people that are in the know.

"We try to get a general vibe to find out what each individual is thinking.

"But there's not too much we can control.

"The only thing we can control is whether we go or not.

"I'm pretty sure that none of us want to miss out on a World Cup, with all the hype and the crowds.

"So we shall see what happens."

Both England's cricket and badminton squads have withdrawn from India in the last 18 months due to the threat of terrorism, but England Hockey are hopeful they will not be forced to do the same.

Performance director David Faulkner has been in frequent contact with the British High Commission in New Delhi over intelligence and logistical plans.

Faulkner said last week that "there was no intelligence telling us we shouldn't be going", but added that he would not hesitate in pulling the squad out if circumstances changed.

An Assistant Commissioner with the Metropolitan Police, John Yates, visited New Delhi last week for detailed consultations with Indian security forces regarding both the World Cup and 2010 Commonwealth Games, which the city will host in October.

Assuming all goes to plan, the England side captained by Barry Middleton will arrive in India in better shape than in any recent World Cup.

England, ranked sixth in the world, caused a major upset in winning the European Championships in Amstelveen last year.

Jackson scored an extra-time winner to beat Holland in the semi-final, before converting two penalty corners in a surprise 5-3 win over Germany in the final.

"England Hockey is on the crest of a wave, indoors and outdoors, and there's no reason why it should end," said Jackson.

"We don't want 2009 to be a one-off year, [the European Championship to be] a tournament that will be forgotten.

"We're looking to use it to kick on towards the 2012 Olympics."

The world's four top-ranked nations - Germany, Australia, Spain and Netherlands - have dominated the last two World Cups, but 22-year-old Jackson senses a shift in the balance of power.

The FIH Young Player of the Year has targeted qualification from Group A and a semi-final berth as a realistic goal for the tournament. England would likely have to beat Australia or Spain to achieve that.

"This World Cup's going to be a lot closer than previous ones," predicted Jackson.

"Even if the same four teams reach the semi-finals as usually do, it's going to be a lot harder for them to get there.

"It's a perfect time for Australia.

"They've been training all summer and the heat won't have any effect on them.

"The Australians are picking from a squad of 39, which is incredible.

"We're ranked sixth, so we're looking to finish in the top half.

"But with the year we've had I can't see why we can't push for a place in a semi-final."

England depart for a warm-weather training camp in Qatar on Thursday prior to arrival in India.

Their first match at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium is against tournament favourites Australia on the opening day.


Related stories
February 2010: Metropolitan Police insist England in no danger in Delhi
February 2010: Hockey World Cup to test Delhi Commonwealth Games security
November 2009: Pakistan will seek Government permission before playing in World Cup
August 2009: Australia monitoring security situation before World Cup
July 2009: India declared safe to host World Hockey Cup