Wandsworth fencer Mary Cohen has admitted some tough love could be just the tonic after being dropped from the Great Britain team for this week's World Championships.

The 25-year-old didn't make the women's épée squad for the team event in Sicily with Team GB performance manager Alex Newton preferring to give Teddington 19-year-old Jenny McGeever the nod ahead of her.

It has dealt Cohen's hopes of selection for the London 2012 Olympics a severe blow with less than 12 months to go before the Games start.

The medical student, who won the Essex Open last month beating half the current GB team on her way to the title, is on the reserve list and could yet be called into the squad in the event of injury.

After thw worlds there is only a handful of events remaining for the British team to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in their own right or else they must rely on getting a wildcard.

But first Cohen must get back in contention in the team and she insisted the disappointment of getting the chop has been a source of inspiration.

"It is still all to play for. I could have given up having not been selected for the Worlds, but I have come too far and invested too much in this," she said.

"I just need to get back in the team and to do that I need to get my national ranking higher and higher.

"I've doubled my training, I'm getting faster and stronger and I have every reason to be positive.

"There are only four competitions after the world championships and they have to get their world ranking much higher. There is a chance we can medal at the Olympics if we can just get there."

Cohen is across the Channel this week competing with Beauvais-based French club ABE in the first national club event of the season in Mácon.

She could yet be jetting to Italy for the women's épée team event on Sunday and she admitted she'd be more than happy to make the trip.

"There are a few injuries around the GB squad at the moment, so I am still on standby," she added.

"My French club has a team building session that weekend, so if I get the call I'm sure I can live without that."