That would represent the most successful British performance at a winter Games since the 1936 Games at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, second only to the total of four medals gained at the 1924 Winter Olympics at Chamonix.

"The ambition for us would to win three medals," Hay told insidethegames.

"We briefly had it in Salt Lake City [in 2002] before Alain [Baxter] lost his medal [after failing a drugs test].

"I think if we could push to win three medals and move on to between tenth and 15th in the Olympic medal table that would be a fantastic result for us.

"That is absolutely our stretch target to do that.

"We can do better than 18th or 21st in the medal table, we can aspire to win three plus medals at the Games.

"UK sport has invested £12 million ($19 million/€14 million) in us over the latest Olympiad from 2010 to 2014 and they will certainly be expecting us to be in that region.

"If we are going to talk specifically about Sochi I think we are probably looking at women's curling this time.

"They have been on the world and European podiums the last couple of years.

"The men's team have been world silver medallists these last two years but I have to say haven't shown good form this season.

"The performance directors would probably not thank me for naming medal hopes, but people who have demonstrated that potential this season have been Shelly Rudman and Lizzie Yarnold in the women's skeleton.

Newly crowned world skeleton champion Shelley Rudman will be one of Britain's medal hopes at Sochi 2014

"Elise Christie in short track speed skating is ranked number one in the world at the moment and she followed up a couple of medals in the Europeans.

"And then there are the 12 new events for Sochi.

"But the exciting ones for us are the freestyle skiing and snowboarding because right now in ski slopestyle James Woods has won two World Cup events and just got a bronze medal at the X Games so he is ranked number one in the world right now, and Billy Morgan has also been showing outstanding form."

To read the full interview with Mike Hay click here.

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