• British rivals are living in comfort zone, says Jamaican
• Sprinter convinced he can beat Usain Bolt once again

Asafa Powell, the former 100m world record holder unseated by Usain Bolt, delivered a damning criticism of his British rivals on the eve of facing them at Crystal Palace tomorrow night, saying the reason they are not challenging for honours is because they are lazy.

Powell is due to contest the 100m at the London grand prix and says athletes in his native Jamaica have a greater motivation to succeed. “I’ve said over the years that British sprinters are very lazy and don’t really want to practise,” he said. “Maybe it’s comfort. In Jamaica, you have to work harder for what you want.”

The 26-year-old friend and rival of fellow Jamaican Bolt, who also runs in tomorrow night’s 100m, says life is harder on the West Indies island and that makes for tougher competitors than the British sprinters. “We have a different mindset,” he said. “You have to make a living out of it because you don’t get a living from anywhere else. You have to go out there and make something of yourself.”

Powell took a swipe at Britain’s leading 100m hope, the 23-year-old Simeon Williamson, who outpaced Dwain Chambers in the UK trials in 10.05sec. “Simeon came to Jamaica and from what I observed, he is a bit lazy,” said Powell. “He did well, though, and he made a lot of improvements. If he puts in the effort and the hard work, there is a lot more to come.”

Tomorrow night, Powell is confident he can repeat the performance that saw him beat the Olympic champion in Stockholm last July, Bolt’s last defeat. “I think I can really go out there and do something spectacular,” said Powell. “I just need to run my own race because if I do I will beat him and beat the field. I really want to be the king of sprints because I think I am.”

It is only 14 months since Powell was the 100m world-record holder with 9.74sec, but after Bolt’s performances – twice breaking the 100m world record in Beijing last year – Powell had been written off in some quarters.

He has been called a “choker”, plagued by psychological demons, and he admitted to “giving up” halfway through the last World Championships final in 2007 as he watched Tyson Gay pass him and finish in third place. Powell contests that accusation – “I don’t think I have a psychological problem,” he said, although he conceded that he will need to prove his mettle this summer with a big championship performance.

“I really have a point to prove but it can become a mental problem if you think about it too much, because every year I keep getting injured. I’m always injured and you have to block that out because it affects you when it comes to the major champs.”

This year the 26-year-old has been tormented by injuries – describing his season’s best time of 9.88sec in Rome two weeks ago as “running on one leg” – and he lists a catalogue of complaints. “My knees affected me a lot and I had a problem with my hamstring. I still suffer from this shoulder injury that I had surgery on last year. I’ve a lot of things I’m working on. I’m trying to get back. It’s mainly both knees and my left ankle.”

Despite the setbacks Powell has run under 10 seconds three times already this season. “That’s what keeps me going because I have all these injuries and I can go out there and run below 10 seconds. I know that when I’m healthy I’ll be a force to go up against.”

Powell says he will use tomorrow night’s to show just how fast he can run before the World Championships in Berlin next month. “It’s important to make a statement because you don’t want to go into Berlin not knowing what shape you’re in.

“If you’re going knowing you have run 9.6, 9.7 two, three weeks before, then you know you’re in 9.7 shape so it’s possible for you to go out there and win. But if you’re running 10 flat all the time you know that you’re chances are not that high.”

For Powell to beat Bolt tomorrow night, or in Berlin, he will need to get a good start. Bolt and Gay, leading the 100m rankings so far this year, are notoriously bad getting out of the blocks. But get off to a bad start, warns Powell, and that knowledge could prove a major distraction.

“Usain is not a good starter‚ so if you get out of the blocks and Usain is right beside you, you know that can be trouble for you. If you get out beside him, in your head it will register that you didn’t start well and that can throw off your race a bit. You just have to try and get out there and let him try and catch you.”