The contract of one of Scotland's leading performance coaches has not been renewed after a fall-out over his training methods with officials. Allen Belobrajdic, a 30-year-old Australian, who was based at Scotstoun in Glasgow, will leave the employment of Tennis Scotland at the end of July.

He is leaving after just 10 months in the position with a blast at the attitude of some tennis parents in Scotland and some of the officials who run the game north of the border.

"I am quite disciplined and maybe some of the kids and parents were not used to that work ethic," said Belobrajdic. "I also felt there was a lack of co-operation between the funding partners like Tennis Scotland, the Lawn Tennis Association, Tennis West and Glasgow City Council.

"I came here with a long-term plan to help improve Scottish tennis and was willing to stay between five and 10 years. I came here thinking that, with Andy Murray and all the other good senior players, there would be a good structure in place and a good attitude but I was wrong."

The Australian, gave a hard-hitting interview to Scottish Institute of Sport Foundation's website, www.inthewinningzone.com after being told his contract would not be renewed.

"There is a serious lack of fitness, and a concerning lack of self-belief among aspiring juniors," he said. "There is no real killer instinct that I can see. That was something I had a lot of, and I know how important it is. But everything that I comment on is based on international standards, because that is where I spent most of my career.

"I think that there is a big emphasis here on technique, which is fine - you do need that; you do need to know how to hit the ball - but I think the psychological and physical aspects are neglected, up to the point where the players may fall behind when they reach the international scene."

Belobrajdic also believes that Scottish youngsters - despite the fact that more and more are taking up the sport and are among the best players in Britain - are not as good as people think.

"I thought to myself that these kids have a burning desire to be here, but . . . they have a long way to go," said the Australian. "They are already in their teens, so there is not a lot of time for them to get up there quickly, so I have been given no choice but to accelerate their development.

"One of the biggest psychological boosts they can plant in their conscience is knowing that they are fitter than their opponents. If they know they have done more than the players in England, Ireland, Wales and abroad, they are going to be feeling confident.

"I know that because I knew I had to be super fit as a player. I remember my opponents always used to joke that they had brought an extra pair of shoes with them, as they knew I was going to work their butt off all over the court."

Belobrajdic said that most parents and children appreciated what he had done for them. "The vast majority of parents and kids say that I have helped them significantly,"

he said. "They really appreciate what I have been doing. However, if there's one person who can't handle it, whether it be a player, a coach, or a parent, an issue is raised with senior officials, and, because of the fear of a lawsuit, the benchmark is lowered once again.

"As an example, a few weeks ago I said I wanted to work on physical and mental endurance. So I got them to hit a lot of tennis balls. Hitting 1000 balls one after the other. The next session was 1200, then 1400 and so on. I got to 1600 and I was told I couldn't do it anymore because they the coaches could not see the value in it.

"I did that myself at the age of eight and these guys are at least 12. I was practising on a wall for two hours at a time. The ball is coming back at me twice as hard, and the wall never misses. Not only did it make my forearm stronger, but it helped my mind when I came on to the court.

"Most of the players saw the logic and agreed that they were improving their game. They were disappointed they couldn't get to 2000 balls because they knew they would have achieved something. It was very tough, but they knew they were getting something out of it."

Belobrajdic believes that only by working on base fitness and perfecting technique could the young Scottish players he worked with then move on to more advanced training later in the season, safe in the knowledge that they had a solid platform upon which they could build their game.

The Australian coach, who is currently in Munich, said Andy Murray's rise up the tennis rankings had everything to do with him appointing Brad Gilbert, who is renowned as a hard task master, as his coach.

"I'm not going to say I am the same quality as Brad Gilbert but I think we have a similar approach in some areas," said Belobrajdic. "I instill mental fortitude to those who want it, and to those who don't."

A spokesman for Tennis Scotland said Belobrajdic was entitled to his opinion and his points would be noted.

"We can confirm that Mr Belobrajdic's contract has not been renewed but, as he is an employee of ours until the end of July, it would be wrong for us to comment further." Who is Allen Belobrajdic? The 30-year-old Australian had an impressive track record as a junior when he played the likes of Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt on the ITF junior circuit.

Despite such formidable competition, he was national champion six times, and ranked No.1 in the world at under-14. He turned professional and played on the ATP Tour, but a chronic shoulder condition forced him to retire from competitive tennis in his early 20s.