By Simon Stone, PA Sport

Kanukai Jackson will start as favourite to add Commonwealth Games all-round individual gold to the gymnastics team triumph of Friday - but he admits he was just as pleased with his European Championship bronze.

The 22-year-old Londoner anchored England to their second successive gold medal success in the team event, recording top-three performances in five of the six disciplines and heading the overall rankings for Sunday's individual event.

More medals are almost certain to follow as England try to overturn recent Canadian Commonwealth dominance. But it was hard-won European bronze on the vault in Greece earlier this year which gives Jackson the most satisfaction.

"In the eyes of the gymnastic world, the Europeans are more prestigious," he said.

"There are some pretty useful individual performers in these championships who can compete at the highest level.

"But in the Europeans you also have the Russians, who can beat almost anyone and the German team which is also very strong."

Jackson finished 15th in the individual standings in Greece, although his score on Friday showed significant improvement on that effort, including a 9.550 score on his favourite vault, the second highest score recorded by any competitor yesterday.

"You can't really read anything into the team event," he said.

"It was good for the confidence but even if it had all gone wrong, there would have been no time to alter my preparation.

"I don't think it will be the end of the English medals though. We have come into these championships with plenty of self-belief and we can improve."

Australia's Michael Rizzo and Canada's David Kikuchi look set to be Jackson's main rivals in the pursuit of individual glory.

However, his chances have received a significant lift by the elimination of Kyle Shewfelt, who despite some impressive showings failed to reach the top four for Canada in three disciplines and so misses out on a competition which includes only the 16 top-ranked performers from the team event.

After a brief lull during his teen years, Jackson, whose parents hail from Zimbabwe, has generally been the outstanding British performer throughout his competitive career.

Taking up the sport when he was just four, he briefly flirted with soccer and cricket before settling on the sport which demands strength, suppleness and serenity in equal measure.

But it's not been a smooth route to success. National champion in 2000, he was unable to defend his crown after suffering stiffness in his knees on the long flight back from competition in Australia.

"I do tend to pick up a lot of injuries but that's probably something to do with my build," added Jackson, who also has to undergo regular operations to remove small grafts of bone which attach themselves to his ankle and which hinder performance.

"You can't carry injuries in gymnastics the way you might in football or other sports, so the main aim is prevention. If you have to miss a competition to make sure you don't sit out a few more, you just have to accept it."

Like his four team-mates, Jackson was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reception of the capacity crowd packed into the G-Mex on Friday and is hoping for a repeat performance on Saturday.

"The team and the supporters fed off each other," he said.

"It took a while to get used to the noise but once we had and started to do well, the crowd really responded. It pumped us up even more and once we knew the result, they went mad."

Not usually one of the most well-supported sports, he understands the need to make an impact when public awareness is at its height.

"For a short time we will get a lot of attention and we must make the most of it," he said.

"It is like anything else. If the football team is not doing well, the publicity is all bad.

"We need to keep winning to maintain interest, which in turn will encourage more people to take up the sport."