Scotland's Sinead and John Kerr are moving towards retirement, but the Livingston-born skating couple have no intention of bowing out quietly. On the contrary, they are determined to improve on the bronze medals they secured two years ago when they strut their stuff at the European Championships in Bern which commence on January 25.

The siblings elected to carry on after finishing fifth in last season's World Championships, on the back of appearing in their second Winter Olympics. But, thus far, their 2010-11 campaign has been restricted as a consequence of Sinead sustaining a shoulder injury, which has kept the Scots out of international action since October. Yet, their focus has always been on making a serious challenge in Switzerland and, thence, during their swansong at the Worlds in Tokyo in March.

"It has been tough, because our coach [Evgeny Platov] and choreographer [Peter Tchernyshev] came up with some excellent routines for us last summer and we were really looking forward to performing them on the Grand Prix circuit," says John, who, at 30, is a year younger than his sister.

"But, from the outset, our main goal was to do ourselves justice at the Euros and the Worlds and we think we are on course to do that. We'll be disappointed if we don't get a medal and who knows how far up we can go?"

The Kerrs' main rivals will be the French duo, Nathalie Pechalat and Fabien Bourzat, Italy's Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali and the emerging Russians, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev. But, on the evidence of their best displays during the last couple of seasons, the Scots needn't fear anybody else in the competition.

In many respects, Sinead and John are now better known in the United States, the rest of Europe and Japan than they are in their homeland, which is odd, given the success of "Dancing on Ice."

Immediately after their schedule in Bern, the seven-time British champions [a record they share with Torvill and Dean] will join the "Art on Ice" series of shows, in the company of classical diva, Katherine Jenkins, and 70s soul icon, Donna Summer. But they have always ploughed their own furrow, and are content to feel the love of foreign audiences.  

"We took some time off at the end of last season, to decide whether we wanted to carry on. But we quickly reached the conclusion that we were still improving and that we didn't want to walk away from the sport with any regrets," says John.

 "It's hard work, but it is also very rewarding when you earn the chance to take part in these big competitions. Even after all these years, we still get  a big buzz when we go onto the ice and there are medals at stake."

The Kerrs will have no shortage of work when they advance to the professional exhibition circuit. But, for the moment, they believe they have an outstanding opportunity to climb onto another podium at the climax of the battle in Bern.