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Olympic 400m silver medallist Roger Black believes UKA have set the bar too high with a target of ten athletics medals at the London 2012 Olympics.

Great Britain harvested six medals at the World Championships in August - including golds from heptathlete Jess Ennis and triple jumper Phillips Idowu - to surpass pre-tournament expectations of five.

That better-than-expected performance has prompted UKA chief executive Niels de Vos to predict ten track and field medals at London 2012, six more than Team GB won in Beijing, as well as stating his belief that athletics could be the top medal-winning sport for Britain.

But not since Tokyo 1964 have Britain's athletes returned from a boycott-free Olympics with ten or more medals, and Black - who claimed one of six British medals at Atlanta 1996 - fears de Vos has set himself up for a fall.

"To say ten medals is a big target. That's quite a big target. We'd do well to get ten. But I think if we got seven or eight we'd be doing well compared to most Olympics," said 43-year-old Black.

"When I won my medal, I don't think we won more than six. So I think if we do that we should be very, very pleased with ten. It's hard to win Olympic medals, trust me.

"But I think we've got reasons to be optimistic.

"Ask me in a year's time and I'll have a better answer. But I think we'll do as well - do as well as we normally do.

"Obviously the set up now is far better than it was in my day but in the end that doesn't win you medals."

While Black believes ten medals may be a struggle, he is convinced there is plenty of talent in the British ranks.

"We had two world champions in Berlin. Jess is young and still improving and Phillips is a very talented guy - so they've both definitely got chances in 2012 if they stay healthy," he added.

"Christine Ohuruogu has always got a chance as well - you can never write her off.

"There's some talented athletes coming through but three years is a long time in athletics.

"They've got to take it seriously, focus hard and train harder than ever before and not be scared of competing.

"If they use the advantage of being on home soil, historically that's clearly an advantage, then perhaps ten is not so unrealistic - a bit of luck always helps.

"The worlds were encouraging for everyone. There was a group of athletes who performed well which we didn't really count on.

"Both men's hurdles, bronze in 800m with Jenny Meadows and silver in women's 1500. It's looking alright."

More Than The Games / Eurosport