Warner: Scots are leading lights

Depar ting UK Athletics supremo Ed Warner has hailed the sport in Scotland for going from awful to awesome in double-quick time.

The businessman steps down tonight after piloting London 2017 from bid to sell-out bonanza

But there will be questions over how track and field can keeping cashing in – and where the next great track star is coming from with Mo Farah calling it quits.

But with veteran coaches Toni Minichiello and Malcolm Arnold calling for change to give coaches extra backing and to beef up the clubs, it’s north of the border where the attention’s going with calls to copy the system that conjured up a record 16 Scots into the British team.

And Warner told MailSport: “When I started 10 years ago, Scotland was our basket case. It was a worry. I used to attend every Scottish Athletics board meeting and they couldn’t work out where a medal was going to come from in 2014 at the Commonwealth Games.

“Now, it’s no coincidence that we poached their chief exec Nigel Holl to do strategy for UK Athletics. Scotland’s been doing amazing things. Scotland should be proud.”