The disappointment of Glasgow has already been filed away by Rhys McClenaghan.The Olympic champion finished sixth in the Commonwealth Games pommel horse final after judges declined to award the difficulty value for his new opening mount, a decision that in effect ended his medal hopes before his routine had really got going.But with the European Championships beginning in Zagreb, Croatia, this month, there is little appetite for what might have been. McClenaghan views the competition as another necessary step in the pursuit of something bigger.“It’s just on to the next one,” he said. “Even if I was standing there with a gold medal, I’d still have been saying this was a stepping stone to something better. A better routine, better performance, a better score.”That explains why he arrived in Glasgow with an upgraded routine rather than relying on the one that has already delivered an Olympic gold medal in Paris. That would have amounted to standing still, and that’s not McClenaghan.[ Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth Games athletes honoured at homecoming event ]“You have to test these routines out at some point,” he said. “You’re sacrificing a major title, but it happens.”Rather than abandoning the routine before the Europeans, McClenaghan is committed to tweaking and refining it.“I need to drastically improve it now because the gymnastics’ world is small, and the judges that are on that panel at the Commonwealth Games may well be on the panel at the European Championships, which means they’re going to be looking extra close now,” he said with a smile.“They didn’t even see me perform that mount before that competition, so now they’ve seen me perform it and perform it badly with a mistake and they didn’t give credit to it. Now they’re going to be looking at it so closely to see, ‘Is this going to count?’”Rhys McClenaghan: 'I’m excited to see what everyone is hopefully capable of at the Euros.' Photograph: Dan Sheridan/INPHO There is no complaint about harsh judging, rather an understanding that the skill should become so clean that there can be no debate. Just as it was in Paris two years ago.“I’m not saying they should have given me it,” the Newtownards man said. “I should be doing it better than anyone else.”That approach has become even more important following a post-Paris change to gymnastics’ Code of Points. Judges are no longer instructed to give gymnasts the benefit of the doubt when assessing borderline skills. “It’s made judging extra harsh,” McClenaghan said.That was one lesson. Another was that hearing his rivals post huge scores over the arena speakers inevitably has an effect as was the case last week.In Zagreb, he plans to narrow his focus accordingly, avoiding qualification sessions and team finals to concentrate solely on his own performance. “I’ll do my job, leave and go back to the hotel room. Focusing on other people doesn’t do anything for me any more,” McClenaghan said.For all the frustration of Glasgow, it was the 27-year-old’s first major championship since returning from shoulder surgery. “I feel more confident now than I did before Commonwealths,” he said.“I’ve gone through the whole competition experience now. You can build these things up in your mind, but it’s not this big scary challenge. You’ve waited in the tunnel, you’ve walked out to a packed arena, you’ve felt the nerves. It’s literally just another pommel routine.“It’s not this big scary demon of a challenge ahead of you. It’s literally just another pommel routine. I feel like I’m going to go into Europeans a lot more relaxed and a lot more confident than Commonwealths.”With James Hickey and Eamon Montgomery both reaching World Cup podiums this season, McClenaghan believes Ireland now have genuine medal contenders across multiple events.“I’m now sitting here talking about multiple medal chances rather than just myself,” he said. “We’re not doing this to make Commonwealth Games finals, we’re doing it to win world titles and Olympic titles. I’m excited to see what everyone is hopefully capable of at [the] Euros.”