“I'm DC, not JC,” Dave Collins, UK Athletics' performance director, said when asked if he could categorically guarantee an improved medals haul in London. While elsewhere Team GB held celebratory press conferences, the post mortem into the failure of athletics to reach its medals target began in earnest.

Collins could have been forgiven for feeling like Ringo Starr, a bit-part player in a hugely successful group. Three-and-a-half years into his role, he was forced into a spirited defence of his work as the vultures circled and Charles van Commenee, the Dutchman who branded Kelly Sotherton a wimp for winning the wrong medal in 2004, was installed as favourite to replace him.

“People weren't exactly queueing up take the job [last time],” Collins said of the speculation over his future. “This is a sport that had a lot of issues that needed addressing and it would be nice to have everyone agree on a plan now. Better to come inside and help rather than sniping from the outside. If I was the chief executive of UKA then I would have sorted this out months ago. I think I should be judged on more than the medal count.”

It was defensive stuff and there is no doubt these Games have been a disappointment on the athletics front. Christine Ohuruogu provided the solitary gold in the 400metres, Germaine Mason and Phillips Idowu added silvers in the jumps and Tasha Danvers won a bronze in the 400metres hurdles. That gives Britain the same number of medals from Athens when Kelly Holmes got Britain out of jail. In the previous three Games, Britain took six medals on each occasion.

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There were some mitigating circumstances. Collins said the women's 4x100metres relay might well have won gold had they not been “obstructed” by the Jamaica team; Lisa Dobriskey, fourth in the 1,500metres, would have had a medal but for poor tactics and an evident lack of belief; the women's 4x400metres relay was hampered by the withdrawal of Lee McConnell; Paula Radcliffe was attempting the impossible in the marathon; Jessica Ennis was not here.

All countries can do this, of course, and the criticism is mounting. Collins, to his credit, did not pretend that everything was rosy. “Lord knows we need to raise our game on coach education,” he said. “Would four medals in London be enough? Clearly not. But this is the first year since I've been in the job that we have not exceeded expectations.” Could he guarantee a better return in 2012? “I can't guarantee it, but I'd say it's a pretty good bet. I'd bet my job on it.”

He may not get the chance, although he has not had any discussions about his future with either Niels de Vos, UKA's chief executive, or Ed Warner, the chairman. His contract is up in March and Van Commenee's no-nonsense approach is currying favour with many observers. Holland's chef de mission here, he famously branded Sotherton “a wimp” and reduced her to tears shortly after she had won Britain's first athletics medal at the Athens Olympics; he argued that Sotherton would have taken the silver instead of bronze had she tried harder in the 800 metres.

Collins revealed that talks had started before the Olympics with a view to bringing some of Jamaica's top coaches to the UK. The success of Jamaica in the sprints has been the story of the track and the likes of Glen Mills, Usain Bolt's coach, would provide useful advice. The trouble is that plan will encounter the protectionism and self-interest that stifles the sport in the UK. Collins has tried to deal with that but spoke, almost wistfully, of the need for a coherent plan backed by all. “I'm very satisfied with what I've achieved but, by God, I'd like to have achieved more,” he said.