Arnold has been one of the world's best coaches for nearly 40 years now and guided Uganda's John Akii-Bua and Canada's Mark McKoy to Olympic titles, as well as overseeing from the start Jackson's brillaint career, which included two world 110 metres hurdles title and a world record.

 

But he has claimed, in a letter published in the latest issue of Athletics Weekly, that too much emphasis has been put on things like science while neglecting other fundamental issues under Dave Collins, who has been replaced as performance director after Britain won only four medals at the Olympics in Beijing, failing to meet the target set by National Lottery distributor UK Sport.

 

Arnold writes: "We have seen the performance management experiment fail over the last four years."

 

Arnold, a senior performance coach for UK Athletics based at the University of Bath, writes about the "marginalisation of coach education and the lack of importance of coaches in the late, unlamented regime".

 

Arnold said: "Coaches are the best and only performance managers.

 

"The appliance of science, except in certain isolated areas of excellence, has been seen to be lacking in relevance to performers and coaches."

 

Arnold served as performance director himself at UK Athletics between 1994 and 1997 but is dismayed at the changes in priority since he left.

 

He writes: "For the last 10 years, coach education has been so neglected, that it is a wonder that we are doing as well as we are on the world stage."

 

Arnold is hoping that under Dutchman Charles van Commenee, who has taken over in the newly-created role of head coach and is due to start officially on January 1, 2009, things will change.

 

He writes: "Coaching and coach education must now resume its former position in our sport at all levels.

 

"We neglect it at our peril.

 

"Talent identification must begin again.

 

"If we don't persuade youngsters to enter our sport, they will go elsewhere and our great sport will suffer."