By Ken Gaunt, PA Sport

Despite enjoying the best Winter Olympics since the War, chief executive and chef de mission of the British Olympic Association Simon Clegg claims Great Britain are destined to remain in the second division of winter sports.

Britain's women won curling gold in Salt Lake City, while Alex Coomber and Alain Baxter both claimed bronze medals in the women's skeleton bob and men's slalom skiing respectively.

However, Clegg admits Britain will always play second fiddle at the winter games.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We lack the natural facilities enjoyed by other Alpine nations, so we are never going to be in the Premier League.

"The target was to have the best result this side of the Second World War and we have achieved that.

"The BOA invested heavily in ensuring this is the best prepared team we have brought to the Winter Olympics."

Clegg added: "Obviously the curling gold was fantastic. It couldn't have happened to a nicer group of athletes.

"They have remained entirely focused through the whole programme. They made it very hard for themselves by losing to Germany and the United States.

"They had to go through a play-off system to get to the final. The sport now has a fantastic opportunity on which it must capitalise."

But while thrilled at the success of Britain's medallists, Clegg claimed overall results for Team GB had been mixed and indicated those who had under-achieved could see their grants reduced.

"We will go back and analyse the performance of every British athlete out here," he said.

"Where athletes have under-performed, we will look at our selection standards and if necessary raise the standard for future games.

"I have no problem with the principle of accountability on grants. People expect them to deliver the goods.

"If they don't, they can expect their funding to be cut."