Be aggressive, urges Britton’s coach Jones

The words of encouragement from coach Chris Jones will fill Fionnuala Britton with confidence as she defends her European cross-country title in Budapest tomorrow.

“I want her to be aggressive and make them hurt and when she moves I would like to see her make them suffer and spare nothing” said Jones prior to joining Britton in the Hungarian capital where snow and freezing temperatures are forecast.

“I would not be concerned about Fionnuala if those conditions prevailed. For a start I think it’s a stronger field than when she won last year but she seems aware of that and has been adjusting her preparations accordingly which makes my job that bit easier. I have seen the work Fionnuala has done and I’ve seen how much she wants to win this title again, her desire, her determination, everything that would make her more competitive. What I want from Fionnuala is a performance similar to that which won the IAAF race in Edinburgh a year ago. That for me was her best performance ever over the country. That day she was aggressive and kicked on from an early stage and was just magnificent. If she can re-produce that form she will be very hard to beat.