Jess Ennis plays down golden expectations ahead of World Championships

From Tom Reynolds, Sportsbeat, Monte Gordo

 JESS Ennis will carry the hopes of the nation at the World Championships - but she has warned that all that glitters might not be gold in Berlin.

HIGH HOPES: Jess Ennis will be expected to produce the goods for Great Britain in Berlin (Getty Images for Aviva)

The 23-year-old will travel to the Olympic Stadium as one of few genuine home medal hopes with injury and poor form continuing to rip a hole in the British team.

Olympic medallists Germaine Mason and Tasha Danvers as well as marathon runner Mara Yamauchi and Ennis' British rival Kelly Sotherton all head up a long list of absentees.

But while they have been busy on the treatment table Ennis has been in the form of her life, reassuring UKA head coach Charles van Commenee that not all will be lost in the German capital.

The Dutchman is sticking to his guns when it comes to medal targets and has reiterated nothing less than the five medals won in Osaka 2007 will do.

Ennis was fourth in Osaka but, along with triple jumper Phillips Idowu, must be considered a banker for a medal if Great Britain are to reach five.

And the form book suggests she won't disappoint. Ennis set a new personal best of 6597 points in her first heptathlon of the year in Italy in May but she insists she won't be disappointed if she isn't singing God Save the Queen in Germany.

"It definitely isn't a case of gold or nothing for me - there are quite a few girls in and around the same position and it is not as if I have a 200 point lead over second position," said Ennis - who is currently preparing at Britain's warm-weather training camp in Portugal.

"It is nice to be in the position that I am in but it doesn't really matter where you are when it comes to a championship you have just got to do it there.

"I would be really pleased to win any medal, gold, silver or bronze. That would be the icing on the cake for what has been a really good year so far.

"Things couldn't have gone any better really and I have to make sure I finish it well. It is inevitable that there is quite a lot of pressure on me now but that comes with doing well.

"I am enjoying it and if pressure comes with it then as an athlete I just have to deal with it and hopefully I can."

Ennis suffered heartache last year when an ankle injury ruled her out for the best part of a year, forcing her to sit out the Beijing Olmypics.

But such has been her form since, she will compete in the 100m hurdles as well as the heptathlon in Berlin.

The Sheffield ace has been setting personal bests for fun this season with new marks evading her in only the high jump and the 200m.

Most notably, Ennis has increased her long jump best by ten centimetres to 6.43m - a little over three months since changing her take-off foot.

It therefore comes as no surprise that she is ranked number one in the world this year but Ennis is all too aware of the pitfalls of heading into the World Championships as the favourite.

"Anything can happen in the heptathlon - I was feeling good last year and then I got the injured and that has happened to others this year - things are always changing," added Ennis.

"But for me that makes me even more determined to go there and compete well and take advantage of the form I am in because I know what the heptathlon is like.

"This is really a great opportunity for me to take advantage and do the best I can do because it is quite open

"It is very hard to pick one event and see where I am going to get up on people because until you actually start you do not know what sort of shape people are in.

"I obviously have an idea and I know what my strengths are so I will just make sure I play to them and do as well as I can in those events to get big points."