Olympic silver medallist Phillips Idowu believes he can benefit from a low-key approach to next month's World Championships in Berlin.

Idowu was the favourite for gold at last year's Beijing Olympics but lost out to Portugal's Nelson Evora by 5cm.

But after securing his place in the Great Britain and Ireland team with a single jump in yesterday's trials at Birmingham, Idowu is looking forward to going one better in the German capital.

"A little bit of the pressure is off me because I'm not ranked No1 at the moment," the 30-year-old said. "Going into the Olympics I was ranked No1 and unbeaten all year but I'm not this year so I can go out, relax, and do what I do. I hope that can help me in Berlin.

"Last year, I wanted to be No1 going into the Olympics. I don't think it affected my performance because I still came out with a season's best, it was just a tough competition on the day.

"I have not had the silver medal around my neck since the podium. It's in a sock drawer somewhere. It's a nice achievement, a big achievement, but it's not the end of my career yet. I have so much more to do."

As for his win in Birmingham with a first-round effort of 17.05m, Idowu said: "I just wanted to do the bare minimum. If it took 15.50m to win then I'd be content with that. I just had to guarantee my place on the plane, get a win with whatever distance it took. An easy day at the office. The best will come out in Berlin."

The most impressive performances yesterday were produced by Jessica Ennis, a strong contender for heptathlon gold in Berlin.

The 23-year-old, who missed the Olympics with a fractured ankle, easily won the high jump with a first-time clearance of 1.85m but she went on to clear 1.91m for a season's best.

Ennis later won the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.87sec, a championship record and only 0.07sec outside the British record set back in 1996.

She said: "If things keep going the way they are, then hopefully I can do something in Berlin."