BARCELONA 2010: Cautious Van Commenee looks to London 2012

By Nick Clowes, Sportsbeat, in Barcelona

CONTENT but cautiously realistic was the best way to sum up head coach Charles van Commenee's mood after the conclusion of the most successful ever European Athletics Championships for British athletes.

COOL CUSTOMER: British coach Charles van Commenee insists there was work to do, despite record medal haul at European Athletics Championships (Getty Images for Aviva)

Final day medals from long jumper Chris Tomlinson and both the men's and women's 4x400m relay quartet took Great Britain to 19 medals - their best haul since returning from Split two decades ago with 18.

But for those who believe golds should set the standard - their six top of podium positions did not eclipse the nine European titles they won in Budapest 12 years ago, when they finished top of the medal table, as opposed to third in Barcelona.

Four years ago in Gothenburg Great Britain won just a solitary gold - but the team has brimmed with new-found confidence since the arrival of Van Commenee - a name it was once impossible to write without prefacing the word taskmaster - and the departure of luckless former performance director Dave Collins.

Last year's World Championships was encouraging, but the six days and nights in the Catalan capital have instilled a new sense of self-belief.

And while some of the European success may not be realistically translated to medal success at next year's World Championships in Daegu or London 2012 beyond, the performances of Jess Ennis, Phillips Idowu, Dai Greene and rising star Perri Shakes-Drayton give cause for much optimism.

"Overall it's very encouraging for the next two years and there are quite a few athletes who have stepped up a level," said Van Commenee, who had set what many viewed as an optimistic target of 15 medals before the championship began.

"We have exceeded our expectations. My role is little in doing that though. It's about what happens on the track and specifically the athletes themselves and what they can achieve.

"It's quite simple. All I do is to remind them of what it is to win, what it feels like to win and what it takes to be successful.

"We must take accountability of what it is and what it means to win - and also be accountable for out failures and we must learn from that.

"We have to take the feeling of what it is like to win and keep that.

"At these championships it's too hard to choose a stand-out performer. How do you compare double European champion Mo Farah or Phillips of Jess or even Hatti Dean who was tremendous in the steeplechase and came from nowhere to finish fourth.

"All of them have my admiration and appreciation."

It is unlikely that any of Britain's new European gold medallists will defend their titles in two years time, when the event switches from a four-year to two-year frequency, meaning the next championships are staged in Helsinki just three weeks before the 2012 Olympics.

That is now the priority for Van Commenee, with next year's World Championships the final stepping stone in the most crucial Olympic cycle of all.

Many of his successful athletes in Barcelona - including Greene, Christian Malcolm, Rhys Williams and Chris Tomlinson - will head to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi later this year, while others - Ennis, Michael Rimmer and Jenny Meadows - will not.

"London 2012 preparations are very much a one-on-one thing. Everyone will differ from each other so it will be done on an individual basis," he added.

"Some athletes need improvement on their strategy, some athletes need to focus on increasing their power and others need to do other things so it will be done very individually between now and the Games."