By Andy Schooler, in Manchester

Sprint ace Darren Campbell has warned that the burden of expectation on Britain's sprinters could ruin the chance of a golden era for the country.

Speaking days after the now infamous Commonwealth 100m final which saw English hopes Dwain Chambers and Mark Lewis-Francis both pull up injured, Campbell said the pressure placed upon his team-mates was too great.

“Great Britain, England, Wales, at the moment, are producing a great crop of sprinters. In the next few years, with the right guidance and people not putting them under pressure, I think you are going to see the Brits take on the world.

“I think a lot of pressure and expectation was put on those guys. People forget they are young.

“In the case of Mark Lewis-Francis, it wasn't so much that he was under pressure but the feeling he wanted to win a medal so much made him go into a zone that maybe his own body wasn't ready for, hence he pulled his hamstring.

“But he's going to have time to progress and go on to a lot of bigger things.”

The 200m bronze medallist continued: “Sometimes I think we've got to take a step back and give people a chance.

“You're asking someone at 19 to take that type of pressure, that type of emotion. I don't think people can really appreciate how much emotion was out there – it was amazing.

“Sometimes we need to put things into perspective. This isn't life or death.

“If anything that's one thing we need to look at.”