Former Olympic champion Greg Searle reckons the future of Molesey Boat Club has to be as a high performance club.

Captain and Beijing gold medalist Andrew Triggs-Hodge - and the club’s hierarchy - came under fire last month for introducing a major overhaul of the club’s junior section in line with Team GB’s development pathway.

It led some to accuse the club of forcing out casual rowers in favour of producing elite athletes at Barge Walk.

Molesey had ten representatives on show at last week’s British trials in Belgium, where Searle continued his bid to make the London 2012 Olympic team with a second-place in the men’s single sculls B final.

It followed the club’s recent triumph in the Head of the River race last month, which saw them break the dominance of Leander in claiming the title for the first time in 18 years.

And Searle says success at that level is the right direction for the club.

“Molesey needs to be a high performance club,” he said.

“The facilities it has, the coaching set up and the fact peole at the top end are winning means the youngsters coming through are exposed to what it takes to be really fast.

“Winning the Head of the River is the sort of thing that says Molesey really is a high performance club. To do that after 18 years, is something special and is something the club needs to build on.”