By Ian Gordon, PA Sport, Sydney

Outgoing performance director Deryk Snelling admitted today that Britain's swimmers would go down as the "bums" of the pool in Sydney after they failed to win a single medal.

The 41-strong squad, regarded as the strongest-ever, will return home empty handed from a Games for the first time since Hitler's Olympics in Berlin in 1936.

"We will pay the price of not winning medals and will be seen as bums, it's as simple as that," said Lancastrian Snelling, who is returning to his home on Vancouver Island in Canada.

"I knew that it would be difficult to win medals because we were not ranked in the top three of any event, but I really did think we might get a couple of hits in the relays.

"We came very close in the women's sprint relay and the men's 800m relay but missing out there and with Paul Palmer not getting one in the 400m freestyle at the top of the week we lost our momentum.

"It became very difficult after that because in any sport, you need momentum."

Snelling, who will be succeeded by Australia's National Youth Coach Bill Sweetenham later in the year, added: "Britain has come on as a nation.

"We have done a quick calculation and the times we did here would have got us one gold, two silvers and two bronze medals in Atlanta and a whole load of kids in the finals.

"But the world of swimming has gone crazy. There were 15 world records here and 30 Olympic ones. Swimming has gone to a new high and we're not there, not yet anyway."

While the Sydney International Aquatic Centre saw the likes of Holland and Italy challenge the dominance of the United States and the hosts, Britain's hopefuls played the bit-part.

Just three men made it into an individual final while Alison Sheppard was the only female to make a medal decider.

There were a clutch of British records from the relays teams, but just two individual national records were broken by Paul Palmer, one of Britain's two medallists in Atlanta, and Olympic debutant Georgina Lee.

"If I was to be judged just on this one meet I would be devastated," added Snelling, who took over after the Games in 1996 saying his aim was to win every gold medal in Sydney.

"I think I should be judged by what I have done overall. I think I have put Britain on the road to being a stronger nation and put in place what needed to be done.

"It was a tall order expecting us to be successful here when we have only had lottery money for two-and-half years. It took Australia a lot longer than that.

"We are on the right track, but we have just got to bide our time. We might never be the top nation, but we should have more success in Athens in 2004 and if not then, soon after.

"I feel very sorry for the kids in the team who thought they just had to produce their best and that would be it.

"It is galling, but we will just have to accept we were made to look like bums here."