A row has erupted in Bermuda ladies' hockey that is threatening to tear the sport in half.

Mark Mello, the president of Bermuda Hockey Federation, has launched a scathing attack on the coach of the women's national team, accusing Gareth Tavares of alienating the players, questioning his motives, and failing to do the 'dirty work' necessary to make the team a success.

In a wide-ranging interview on the state of hockey in Bermuda, Mello also blamed a cultural divide between Bermudian players and non-Bermudian coaches for the side's recent results, has hinted at wholesale changes in the coaching staff and structure, and also clamied that the philosophy of the sport on the Island is 'fundamentally flawed'.

However, several senior sources within the federation said Mello had distorted the facts, and claim that a series of disciplinary problems involving alcohol have blighted the women's team in the last year. They also describe team members who have 'over inflated opinions of their own ability and importance', who 'treat selection to the team as their right'.

"It's my belief that there were a number of players that were turned off by the coach's style, and some of his people skills," said Mello. "The current coaching staff have alienated our kids, a lot of the under-21s wouldn't play for them.

"I think he turned off a number of our young people, as did his assistant (Andrew Travis). I'm not slagging them off, but I just think they are a bit young, a bit inexperienced.

"One's from South Africa, one's from New Zealand, you have to understand that there is dirty work to be done as a head coach in terms of having to go out there, and nurturing the athletes. I mean you have to go and actually encourage people to come, and say 'how do I get them to come and play for me'.

"I think there is a disconnect, and I think it relates to cultural differences. These coaches aren't from Bermuda, they haven't spent a lot of time here, they've only been here for a few years.

"But you have to ask why they're in this. Do you plan to leave a lasting impression, do you plan to be successful, or are you just in this because if you're in Bermuda you have the opportunity to be a national coach, while if you were back in your own country you wouldn't have those same opportunities, you'd be applicant number 300,000.

"And I think there is an element of that to some of the people that have stepped forward to be the coaches, and they portray that attitude toward some of the people."

As the fall-out from the recent Pan Am Cup continues, Mello pointed to Bermuda's performance in the 2005 junior tournament where the team scored six goals and conceded 27. In the same tournament in Mexico last October they conceded 61 goals and didn't score any, and in the senior tournament this month they conceded 49 and again failed to score.

"There has to be something going wrong here, because we can't have got this much worse, I find that hard to believe," he said.

Mello lays the blame for the apparent backwards step firmly at the feet of coaches Tavares and Travis, claiming the determination to focus on high performance was incompatible with the Island's small group of players.

"We are trying to force a system that doesn't match our players. It isn't going to work on a 38-year-old or 35-year-old. But come hell or high water they (the new coaches, Tavares and Travis) have been insistent on playing this style no matter what. They want to play this attacking style when in certain games we need to be more defensive."

Sources withing the federation, however, yesterday painted a different picture, and told stories of indiscipline, heavy drinking, player mutinies and a team split by internal arguments.

"The only problem with the federation at present is that it is being led by someone who does not have the support of the majority of the federation," said the source.

"The tactics used in 2005 were so negative that at the CAC Games in 2006 the Pan American Hockey Federation said they were considering not asking Bermuda back in 2008. In that tournament the goalkeeper had never played hockey before, and the back-up goalie was a defender.

"We had serious issues involving alcohol before the tournament, and several serious issues during the tournament. The president is well aware of these issues but refuses to do anything about them. They involved three players that may have made the Pan Am Cup, but they were not considered because of this."

"In the circumstances it is hardly surprising that we got the results we did. It's all very well to blame the coaches, but the players have to look at themselves and ask if they are really committed to their country."

Neither Tavares nor Travis, who sits on the federation's executive committee and was instrumental in organising the Pan Am Cup, would comment on the row, but a source within the federation dismissed the claims of a cultural divide as a 'weak, pathetic excuse'.

"The so-called cultural divide that exists between Bermudian players and non-Bermudian coaches is just a convenient way to excuse the lazy attitudes and lack of commitment from a lot of players towards training etc," said the source.

"I've been told that non-Bermudians don't understand that Bermudians aren't good at training – frankly I believe this, again, is just complete b******t, and more weak, pathetic excuses attempting to explain away the lazy attitudes of players towards training.

"Yes, we're a small nation, and yes, we have a small player base. But too many players look to these facts as an excuse. They treat selection as their right, and constantly look for the 'free pass' or the 'easy ride' when it comes to training. Until players get shaken out of this mentality and begin to commit to intensive training programmes, akin to that which some of the better nations in the Pan Am region follow, there will be no significant improvement in the standing of Bermuda hockey within the Pan American region."