Andrew Robinson is determined to prove a point tomorrow.

Steeplechaser Robinson was furious he was not chosen to compete at the Commonwealth Games in March despite meeting all the selection criteria.

The Horsham Blue Star Harrier finished second at the trials and ran well inside the qualifying standard required to make the England team to go to Melbourne.

But he was overlooked by chairman of selectors Chris Carter who will be an interested spectator at the Sussex Track and Field Championships this weekend.

Robinson is still seething at the decision and is hoping to put on a good show in front of Carter at the K2 Centre in Crawley tomorrow.

He said: "I still think I should have been picked for the Commonwealths and the way the lads who did who did go ran proved the selectors made the wrong decision.

"I was second at the trails and achieved the qualifying time but they picked a guy who came fifth at the trials instead (Stuart Stokes) and another young guy (Luke Gunn) who flopped in Melbourne.

"I don't know why they bother having trials at all because they don't seem to mean anything. In the end the selection process is all governed by politics and I was pretty upset at the time.

"But I have had some time off and now I want to go out there this season and prove a point to people that I am good enough to compete at major championships."

Robinson was forced to rest over the summer as he recovered from a knee injury and will run in the 5,000m tomorrow rather than defend the 3,000m steeplechase title he won last year.

His main challenge is likely to come from reigning champion Louis Jones and Brighton and Hove City's Matt Bristow but despite his lengthy lay-off Robinson should have the class to come through.

With the European Championships coming up later in the season, Robinson knows it is important he gets off to a winning start with the trials less than two months away.

Robinson said: "Considering I didn't run for five and a half months over the winter things have gone surprisingly well. I never found out what the problem was with the knee but it seems to be fine now.

"I've been working in the gym for two hours a day and I am a lot stronger than I was before. I'm not expecting too much as it my first race of the season and I won't start doing steeplechases until next month.

"But the race will be good training and give me an indication of where I am in terms of preparation for the AAAs Championships which double as the European trials in July."

Mick Jones will also be going for his 22nd senior Sussex hammer title tomorrow while Crawley's Joel Kidger will be favourite for the 800m in the absence of AAAs champion Tim Bayley.

The main attraction of the day could come in the under-17 200m where sprint sensation Oufunmi Sobodu will try to break Wade Bennett-Jackson's championship best of 22.13sec.

Sobodu, of Worthing and District Harriers, has already set the Sussex athletics scene alight this season and could also improve on Bennett-Jackson's 100m championship best of 10.84sec on Sunday.