UK Sport chief defends van Commenee's London 2012 claims

By Gerard Meagher, Sportsbeat

UK Sport chief executive John Steele has defended Charles van Commenee's decision to announce Great Britain's track and field finest are not yet ready for the London 2012 Olympics.

TASKMASTER: Charle van Commenee has stated that he does not believe Great Britain are ready for the London 2012 Olympics (Getty Images)

UKA head coach van Commenee has stated on the eve of the European Championships that his athletes are not at present performing at a high enough level to secure the eight medals targeted for London 2012.

Van Commenee is never one to shy away from a tough task and while UK Sport are expecting between ten and 15 medals from the European Championships, the Dutchman wants eight of them to be gold.

And so having developed a no-nonsense reputation, it is highly unlikely van Commenee's claim Great Britain are not ready to achieve their Olympic goal was borne out of a desire to play down expectations.

But Steele, speaking at UK Sport's latest Mission 2012 review where athletics received an amber rating in their traffic light system, insists there is no cause for concern.  

"Charles van Commenee concurred with the targets that we've set and he believes they are right," said Steele, who imminently departs his post to take the reins of the Rugby Football Union.

"He doesn't feel that athletics is there yet but that is where he wants to get to.

"It gives everyone real clarity in what they want to achieve. Charles is a great operator and I'm sure he'll find a way of doing that.

"Things can happen and it's absolutely foreseeable that we will encounter challenges between now and London 2012 and that's all part of what we do.

"I think over the last two years sports have seen that an open and honest submission to us is very beneficial and helps to address any underlying problems and it's more effective.

"If at this stage every light were green then I think the alarm bells would be ringing. That would mean there is no further progress to be had and we need sports to say that there is more to come."