Federica Pellegrini has refused to return calls and has not spoken to French coach Philippe Lucas since the last day of her racing schedule at the world championships in Shanghai in July, the coach claims today.

The contract between Lucas, former mentor to Laure Manaudou, and the Italian federation ended on July 31. In a long interview with L'Equipe Magazine in which he rejects the notion that he is a "difficult coach", Lucas casts doubt on the merit of Pellegrini's long-term preparations as the "certain" winner of the Olympic 400m freestyle title.

On paper, the signs do indeed look good - but then they looked just as good before Beijing 2008 as Pellegrini entered the fray as world record holder and clear favourite. She emerged without a medal, the crown going to Britain's Rebecca Adlington, the minor spoils to Katie Hoff (USA) and Joanne Jackson (GBR), all of whom out-smarted and outswam the Italian.

Lucas tells the magazine: "When they sign a contract until July 31st, 2011 and it does not include the year of Games, that comes across as a bit strange. This did not prevent me from working well with her [Pellegrini]. She is a professional girl. A superb swimmer. You should see whist she is capable of in training. 

"She's like Potec or Manaudou. It opens your eyes [to possibility]. But in the end, you have a swimmer who is world champion twice [in 200 and 400m free] and you lose a swimmer who is certainly going to win 400 at the Games. But there it is. I had my reasons [for staying put in France]."

Lucas recognises the pattern: Manaudou left him and France for love and a life with Luca Marin in the wake of outstanding results at the 2007 world championships (200m and 400m titles, the 200m in a world-record time that crushed the standard set by Pellegrini in semis).

There had been a suggestion that Lucas would leave Paris and follow Pellegrini back to Verona. But Lucas tells the magazine that he was not prepared to leave Camelia Potec in the lurch: "She's followed me everywhere since 2007 and is part of my life."

Lucas recalls leaving Shanghai the morning after Pellegrini's last race at world titles. The coach called Luca Marin, the medley swimmer at a time when he and Pellegrini had just broken up in the midst of Italian headlines over Pellegrini's feelings for sprinter Filippo Magnini. "I called Luca to explain to him ... Some days later, I called her. Twice. She did not answer. It's all right. Now, if the Italians really want me to work for them, they must put a contract on the table."

Meanwhile, Lucas is happy with the challenges before him, including Potec, Magali Rousseau and Coralie Dobral. He also urges Amaury Leveaux to return to his fold and wags a finger at Mulhouse coach Lionel Horter, who he claims was instrumental in Stasiulis's move and is now attempting to get Leveaux back to Mulhouse. "That's jealousy," said Lucas, who followed that cutting thought by saying how delighted he was to be working at the Croix-Catelan with the boss there, Arnaud Lagardère, "a terrific guy".

Potec, the 2004 200m free Olympic champion from Romania, said Lucas, remains a swimmer capable of "achieving something big". In middle distance freestyle, Potec, he said, was "the strongest swimmer I have coached in my life", words that mean all the more coming from a man who coached Manaudou to some of the grandest 200m, 400m and 800m swims in history.

Asked if events had shaken his confidence, Lucas said: "No, I'm highly motivated." He noted that at three of the past four world titles, his swimmers had won the women's 400m freestyle crown. As for 2009 (when poly put the kettle on): "… that wasn't swimming. It was a farce." Thus did Lucas dismiss the notion that a woman (unassisted) has raced below 4mins over 400m free, the milestone yet to be conquered.

On the woman who back in 2007 he had tipped to be the first to get down that way - Manaudou - he simply wished her well and thought that her best chances of success on the comeback trail might be in the 100m backstroke. He said that her comeback was good for France: "You always need a girl like that."