Max Whitlock intends to take baby-steps back to the top of his sport as he aims to reverse a series of disappointing results  at the World Gymnastics Championships later this month.

Whitlock announced in September that his wife Leah is expecting their first child in February, by which time the 25-year-old will know whether his reign as the undisputed best on the pommel horse has been salvaged with a strong performance in Qatar.

Silver at the Commonwealth Games behind Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan, who also won the European title in Glasgow after an uncharacteristic error by his rival left him out of the medals, has challenged Whitlock’s presumed dominance of the discipline.

But the exciting development in Whitlock’s home life has provided a timely distraction from the pressures of the gym, and it is something he hopes will help motivate his return to the top of his sport for some years to come.

The double Olympic champion told Press Association Sport: “It’s a really exciting and quite surreal time for us, and I can completely understand it when other athletes say that having a child helps put things in perspective.

“Even now my priority has completely shifted to making sure Leah’s OK and doing all the things she needs to be doing. As an athlete it’s important not to be too stressed about your sport and this really does help re-set the balance.”

Instead of how to counter the rise of the likes of McClenaghan, Whitlock has spent the last month since Glasgow ruminating on a potential line in baby clothes and when his future son or daughter will be able to follow him into the sport.

“I intend to introduce our baby to gymnastics 100 per cent,” added Whitlock.

“It’s one of the best sports to start in whether you are going on to make it your job or not, so I can’t wait to take our baby down to the gym.

“I hope they’ll be able to come to as many competitions as they can. We didn’t want to wait too long to have kids because I’ve always thought it would be nice for them to be old enough to come along and see me when I’m still competing.”

Whitlock’s renewed motivation has also been bolstered by the knowledge that there are those in and out of his sport who are beginning to question his ability to win an unprecedented third consecutive world title in Qatar.

He added: “If you don’t use that stuff for motivation it’s going to eat you up. For me it’s still about consolidating and building my routine and not taking much notice of what anyone else is doing.

“I feel similar to how I went into my previous World Championships. I don’t really think about previous results and the prospect of a hat-trick is unbelievable.

“As soon as you stop believing in yourself or doubting yourself, that’s when the issues are going to come. For me it’s just the same process of building and preparing as much as I possibly can.”