Charles van Commenee admits to surprise at how the Dwain Chambers saga has festered and says that he has no problems with Britain’s top sprinter talking up his chances of beating Usain Bolt.

Chambers is back in a Great Britain vest at the SPAR European Team Championships in Leiria, Portugal, today, three months after dominating the European Indoor Championships on and off the track. The publication of his autobiography provoked a bitter reaction in Turin, with the IAAF, the world governing body, initially suggesting that it may try to ban him from the World Championships in August.

Since his arrival as the head coach of UK Athletics in February, Van Commenee has favoured a practical rather than hysterical solution. “I wanted to give clarity from Day 1 and that’s all I’ll say,” he said. “Otherwise we go into it all again. I just want it over.”

Chambers, though, will be big news this summer if his feats in the 100 metres match his words. He has boasted of challenging Bolt, the Olympic champion who ran 9.77sec on Wednesday, but there will be no gagging order.

“It’s not my personal style to say those things, but you have to respect what drives people,” Van Commenee said. “As long as it’s within the bounds of decency and not detrimental to the sport, I can live with it. Muhammad Ali was the ultimate example of making boasts but he followed it up with results. If he [Chambers] wants to put more pressure on himself, that’s fine.”

Chambers is one of the big names here as Britain attempt to win the competition formerly known as the European Cup but now comprising one combined men’s and women’s competition. Russia are the clear favourites, but if Phillips Idowu can get the better of Nelson Évora, Portugal’s Olympic champion, in the triple jump and Christine Ohuruogu, the captain, leads by example, a win is a possibility.

The real aim for Ohuruogu, who runs the 200 metres, is to progress towards the World Championships and an eagerly awaited 400 metres showdown with Sanya Richards. The American ran the year’s best, 49.57sec, in Berlin on Sunday, but Ohuruogu was unmoved. “She works hard, she’s running well and you have to accept she’s a very strong athlete,” Ohuruogu said.

Ohuruogu is likely to meet Richards at the Golden League meeting in Oslo in a fortnight, a break from her habit of running in smaller meetings away from the lucrative European circuit. “It’s not a case of avoiding anyone,” she said. “The plan is to run low-key meets to get my race plan in order, as opposed to running someone else’s.”