DECATHLETE Dean Macey is in "confident" mood as he attempts to book his ticket to the Olympics in the unlikely surroundings of Hexham this weekend.

Macey was being heralded as 'the new Daley Thompson' when he arrived from nowhere to win the silver medal at 1999's World Championships.

But a succession of horrific injury problems have kept the amiable Londoner on the sidelines for the best part of three years.

His last full decathlon came in 2001's World Championships as, since then, a long-standing hamstring problem has prevented him from completing a two-day event.

Great Britain's Olympic squad will be confirmed on Monday and, if Macey's name is to be on the list, he must achieve the qualifying mark of 7,700 points this weekend.

Hexham's international combined events meeting represents his only chance of meeting the qualification criteria but, despite his lengthy absence from the track, he is confident his hamstring will stand up to the strain.

"I'm looking forward to getting out there and showing what I can do," said Macey, who boasts a career-best total of 8,604 points.

"My training has been going really well and I feel good in myself. I'm happy with my fitness levels going in.

"It's a last chance so I suppose there's a bit of pressure from that point of view. But I'm confident in my own ability."

Macey has been accompanied north by his coach Greg Richards, who is confident his charge will show his true colours over the next two days.

"Dean hasn't been rushed back," he said. "He doesn't need to run flat out to qualify. I'm confident he could fall over and still make the qualification standard."

But Macey has been given a word of warning by another decathlete hoping to secure a place in the Olympics this weekend.

Italian champion William Frullani needs 8,000 points to qualify for his national team after falling just 74 points short in Tallinn two weeks ago.

The reigning European Cup winner was out of action for more than a year himself recently after a series of operations, and has warned Macey that his first decathlon back will be no walk in the park.

"The first one was really difficult for me," revealed Frullani. "It takes you a while to get back into the swing of things.

"I'm sure Dean has made sure that he's back fully fit, but he's going to have to put his body through a lot over the next two days. I hope for his sake that he's up to it."