ATHLETICS: TOM Lancashire has fired a warning to his 1500m rivals – including Great Britain team-mates Andy Baddeley and Colin McCourt – that he will be a force to be reckoned with in tonight’s European Championships final.

The Bolton middle distance ace finished a comfortable third in Wednesday’s semi-final in Barcelona to follow Baddeley and McCourt into the final of the gold riband event which is scheduled to take place at 9pm and will be televised live on BBC2.

It was a mature, authoritative performance by the man from Bromley Cross, who qualified for his first major championship final and confirmed the widely-held belief that he has hit form just at the right time.

Lancashire, who dominated the final two laps of the race and led until easing off in the final 50 metres, finished in 3mins 41.68secs behind the Spanish duo of Reyes Estevez and Arturo Casado. Baddeley won the first semi-final in 3:41.46 with McCourt fourth in 3:41.77.

Lancashire was delighted to complete a GB hat-trick of qualifiers, and has no intention of wasting his hard-earned chance to impress on the big stage.

“I’m here to try and win it,” the 25-year-old said.

“All three British guys can consider themselves medal prospects.”

Lancashire had to finish in the first four to be sure of making the final but, helped by a quick early pace, he ran in such a confident, assured fashion there was never any doubt he would qualify.

He stuck to his pre-race plan, settling in the pack before hitting the front at the bell and setting a pace the rest of the field found impossible to handle.

“Qualifying was the main goal,” said Lancashire, who is ranked number two in Europe this year behind Baddeley.

“I’ve had disappointments in the last couple of years and I just wanted to make sure I got through to the final.

“It was really comfortable at the end, which was nice.

“I’m in good shape . . . the Spanish guys came past me at the end but I could see on the board I had the first four covered.

“I couldn’t have asked for a smoother run and I’m very happy. The hard bit is out of the way now.

“I was worried about making it to the final so I’ll feel a lot more relaxed come the final and I think that will be reflected in the time I will do.”