Never mix business with pleasure, they say. Or bring your work home. Mantras which Eilidh Doyle is desperately trying to uphold despite the blurring of professional and personal lines that have inevitably arisen with the installation of her husband Brian as her coach.

The move has been a soft transition for both the Olympic medallist and her long-time mentor Malcolm Arnold who has finally, at the age of 77, taken a much-deserved leap into retirement. With his coaching protégé James Hillier made redundant by UK Athletics at the end of 2016, the Scot was effectively forced into choosing between continuing in Bath under her own steam or relocating to Loughborough.

Plan A, which involves Brian – a former Ireland internationalist – shouldering some of the burden – has afforded both a gentle evolution. “Not much has changed in terms of training,” she said. “Malcolm still comes down once or twice a week but Brian is writing the programme with Malcolm’s oversight. The transition seems to be working nicely, from my point of view anyway.”

The proof of their familial pudding will come on the track, starting with Doyle’s first meaningful 400 metres hurdles outing of this world championship summer in tonight’s Golden Gala meeting in Rome. Although Diamond League points will not be up for grabs, it will be a quality test with Rio silver medallist Sara Petersen and world champion Zuzana Hejnova, her long-time nemesis, among the foes awaiting.

It will be, as every outing is, an opportunity to assess the combination of speed and technique following a short training camp in the sun of Tenerife. If Arnold’s critiques could be brutally honest, then Brian’s feedback, you imagine, may be a little more diplomatic.

“He knows me better than anyone so that helps,” his wife declares. “We're both quite chilled out and Brian has been involved in the sport and knows it well. So the balance is good. But we have a rule not to discuss training and athletics at home.”

Steph Twell, fresh from taking silver in the British trials at 10,000 metres in her impressive debut at the distance, will chase the world championship qualifying mark of 15 minutes and 22 seconds over 5,000m in a field that also includes fellow Scot Eilish McColgan and Rio silver medallist Hellen Obiri.

Elsewhere, CJ Ujah, third at the previous Diamond League stop in Eugene, goes in the 100 metres while European indoor champion Andy Pozzi will aim to maintain his form outdoors in the 110m hurdles.