This year, Delhi was plagued with boycotts from a number of the world's top athletes who missed the Games for a number of reasons ranging from health and security fears to hectic sporting schedules.

Some observers have suggested a decline in the status of the competition but Scott, who is at the three-day Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games Review here, said Glasgow can avoid a repeat of the high-profile absentees in India by highlighting the credentials of the 2014 event.

"I've always said that sport is at the heart of what we want to offer and I think that means you have got to have the world's best athletes there from the Commonwealth countries," he said.

"A great deal of thought was put in to the timing of our Games [from July 23 to August 3, 2014] and let's be honest, the international sporting calendar is crowded, with top athletes having to make choices about where they will compete on a daily basis.

"Therefore, what you want to make sure of as an Organising Committee is that the kind of factors that are in play when they are making these choices encourage them to come to Glasgow.

"Part of that means we have got to do more about promoting the importance and the heritage of the Commonwealth Games.

"The Chris Hoys and the Asafa Powells [both Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games gold medallists] got their first major international exposure at the Commonwealth Games.

"Let's remind ourselves of that and let's also remind ourselves that in many of the sports at the Commonwealth Games the level of competition is as good as you can get.

"Rugby sevens is practically a world championship, netball is practically a world championship and bowls is practically a world championship.

"The same can be said in certain individual disciplines.

"For example, five of the eight 100 metre finalists at the Beijing 2008 Olympics came from Commonwealth countries.

"So it is very important that we have a proactive promotional campaign and a continued policy of engaging with the international sports federations and listening to them.

"We are asking what we need to do for them but also seeing how we can help them in what is very much a mutually beneficial agreement.

"This is critical in getting the message out there to the athletes that coming to Glasgow will not only be a tremendous experience, but also serve them very well in their sporting careers.

"They have got to make choices and we have got to provide them with the tools to choose us."

Scott, who was formerly international director and director of Drug Free Sport at UK Sport, said the Glasgow 2014 team is also looking carefully at how it can avoid some of the other major pitfalls of Delhi 2010.

He said: "One of my regrets is that the Delhi 2010 Games weren't delivered as they could have been, so we cannot be complacent.

"We have to make sure we deliver the venues on time and on budget while coming good on our promise of delivering a Games that is athlete centred.

"I am confident we can do that."

Scott added that the Glasgow segment at the Delhi 2010 Closing Ceremony, which stole the show with a colourful demonstration featuring bagpipes and the Lock Ness Monster, is a clear indication of what will come in 2014.

He said: "In Delhi we chose not to go for so-called expensive talent and instead to showcase the natural talent that is the people of Scotland.

"That is something we will continue to do throughout the project.

"We want to be very genuine about the message we are sending.

"We showed that at the end of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and we will show that in Glasgow in 2014."

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