BRITISH athletics legend Roger Black fears Jared Deacon will be outclassed at Gateshead this Sunday.
Deacon, from South Shields, faces a huge test at the Norwich Union Super League meeting after he was a late inclusion in the race.
And Black, the 1996 Olympic silver medallist, believes Deacon could find himself out of his depth in the 400m.
Deacon, 27, has come close to reproducing his best form in recent weeks after a poor start to the season.
But Black insists he will struggle to live with a field that includes world champion Avard Moncur and Commonwealth gold medal winner Michael Blackwood.
Deacon will also be up against top British trio Daniel Caines, Iwan Thomas and Jamie Baulch at the weekend as he continues his preparations for the World Championship trials in Birmingham in two weeks' time.
His fastest time this year is 46.47 seconds - almost two seconds behind Blackwood's quickest run of 2003.
And Black said: "Jared has been knocking on the door for the past six or seven years, but what he really needs is two things: more consistency and to find about half a second.
"At the moment he's not in the same league as these guys. The benchmark of 400m is to break 45 seconds, and once he starts doing that he can start thinking about competing with these guys."
Black remains confident, however, that Deacon can force his way into Britain's 4x400m relay team for next month's World Championships in Paris. He won gold in the same event in last year's Europeans, and Black added: "Jared can get into the relay team.
"Daniel Caines is the No 1, but there are about five other guys who could make the team and Jared is one of those."
* Tickets for the Norwich Union Super League meeting at Gateshead International Stadium can be bought by ringing 0870 444 4440 or online at www.ukathletics.net.
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