Russia's sports minister has played down the host's chances at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi following a disappointing 2010 performance in Vancouver.
The Soviet-era winter sports superpower managed just three gold medals in Canada - a finish that left it 11th place on the medals table and prompted an overhaul of the entire Olympic federation.
Russia responded by big spending on top foreign coaches and pouring huge funds into new facilities that could help train a new generation of athletes for the February Games on the Black Sea.
The Games' success also carries heavy political overtones for the Kremlin amid its efforts to use patriotism to mobilise support around President Vladimir Putin's 14-year rule.
But Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says that fans should not expect miracles from their team just because it was performing on home snow and ice.
Mutko adds there are 98 sets of medals being contested in 14 sports and only five them are Russia's traditional ones in which they once had success.
