Athletics: Malcolm in medal frame as Collins hails British attitude

The UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins has hailed "a change in attitude" among the Great Britain men's team following an improved display in the European Cup.

The squad finished thirdhere on Thursday evening after avoiding relegation from the élite competition only by default last season. Russia and France finished ahead of the British men in this year's event, and Collins admitted he was pleased with the progress made in the last 12 months.

"I'm a darn sight happier than I was this time last year, there are definite signs of a change in attitude," he said. "The talent is there - they just have to convert it and believe in themselves."

The men's team were competing only because the Spanish venue had nine lanes instead of the usual eight and they achieved only one victory, courtesy of Christian Malcolm in the 200 metres. The Welshman established himself as firm favourite to win next month's European Championships 200m title in Gothenburg with the fastest time by a European this year of 20.29sec.

The second day of competition brought no further victories for the newly promoted women's team, who enjoyed success through Jo Pavey and Natasha Danvers-Smith on day one of the two-day event. Pavey's 3,000m victory bodes well for her 5,000m hopes in Gothenburg, while Danvers-Smith also looked in good form in the 400m hurdles.

Malcolm seems the better bet for a gold medal, though, after his success ahead of Frenchman Ronald Pognon, who was ranked European No 2 behind the 27-year-old Briton last summer.

The Linford Christie-coached sprinter was the star of an otherwise indifferent British display, which cast doubt on the target of 10 medals for the European Championships.

The weaknesses of the women's squad were abundantly clear as they were relegated for the second time in three years. They lost vital points after Becky Lyne was tripped in her 800m race and the 4x100m relay squad failed to finish.

Emulating the seven gold, one silver and six bronze won four years ago in Munich looks a pipe-dream.