Former British coaching chief Frank Dick insists the 11 medals won by the British team at the European Championships in Gothenburg represent a benchmark.

Three relay medals on the final day of competition helped boost the meagre British medal haul which was four golds down on Munich 2002 and eight down on Budapest 1998.

Britain finished a disappointing 10th in the medals table but Dick has been impressed with the way in which some of the younger athletes in the squad competed and believes it augurs well for London 2012.

Attention now turns to the World Junior Championships which begin in Beijing on Tuesday.

"With so many young athletes competing this was the first benchmark in the build-up to the 2012 Olympic Games," said Dick. "The second will be the World Juniors.

"Of course there is still a lot of hard work to be done if medals are to be won in London but there were some encouraging performances from the younger team members."

The former supremo of successful British sides in the 1980s pointed out that seven of the eight individual medals were captured by athletes under the age of 26.

Indeed it was a teenager, 19-year-old Greg Rutherford, who set the ball rolling when finishing runner-up in the long jump last Tuesday.

Rhys Williams (21) and Becky Lyne (24) added bronze medals two days later, the same evening senior international Marlon Devonish, 30, won bronze as he had in Munich four years earlier.

Then on Saturday, 23-year-old Nathan Douglas won the triple jump silver medal and Andy Turner matched the 110m hurdles bronze he won at the Commonwealth Games.

The final session saw Mo Farah (23) miss the 5000m gold by les than one tenth of a second. Sam Ellis (24) was a surprise third over 800m.

Dick said: "Given their ages and he fact that they've now tasted winning medals at this level they should all be eager and hungry to build upon the experience they've gained.

"Nothing is going to be easy and we have had far more successful European Championships but you have to start somewhere and that's what they've done.

"Now it is time for the juniors, some of whom will also be contenders for the London Olympics, to do likewise in Beijing," he added.

Dick insists he is not trying to paint a rosy picture of a disappointing week's action for the British side in Gothenburg, where the men's 4x100m relay squad won the only gold medal.

The quartet's face-saving achievement on the closing day was overshadowed when Darren Campbell did not join the traditional lap of honour, providing UK Athletics performance director Dave Collins with another headache.

Collins initially had to cope with the withdrawal of Commonwealth 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, temporarily suspended after missing three out-of-competition drug tests.

Then his decision to appoint Linford Christie, who was banned for two years after testing positive for nandrolone, as a mentor of the British side was criticised by Sebastian Coe and Paula Radcliffe.

Collins also launched a compulsory grading and comment system for every team member, distributed to the media, which caused resentment among several athletes.

But Collins' biggest problem remained the lack of medals which were earned in the early championship events, a situation only rescued with a strong finish on the final day.

Collins who set a "stretch target" of 10 medals, admitted: "That can't be satisfactory. We need to move on and this is a first step.

"That being said, it's a very satisfying first step.

"We're delighted to have surpassed that target but more than the medals is the process - the way the athletes have competed, the fact they've shown commitment and a hunger to move on.

"The team are progressing - that's what we want to focus on - a number of young athletes here have done well, shown real commitment and are taking the first steps to future success."

Collins insists his methods will turn around the situation before the Olympic action gets under way in London six years hence and he will see the task through.

The former psychologist, stressing his personal commitment, said: "We've said it's a long process. How long did it take swimming? The programme was in poor order - there are lots of things which need to change.

"I signed for the trip - I'd like to complete the trip. I'm satisfied that we've made the first steps."