Nugent, 61, is three weeks into his new role as technical director of swimming at the Victorian Institute of Sport.

He visited Lamb and world junior championships-bound teen Isaac Jones at Warrnambool’s AquaZone yesterday.

Nugent said he would work with coaches throughout Victoria in an effort to develop consistency in their messages and philosophies.

He said he was confident that coaches guiding elite young talent, particularly those in country areas, would benefit from uniting.

“Athletes and coaches across Victoria work in isolation from each other so we want to bring a group mentality to the state,” he said.

“That’ll help them perform better. 

‘‘I want to bring the coaches together more often and we can discuss coaching styles.

“With a young man like Isaac and the others that come out of Warrnambool, you want to be able to develop these people so they can progress to international level.

“We turn up talent all over the country but often if they’re in isolated areas, country Victoria or outback New South Wales, they can peter out, die on the vine.

“Part of my role is to not have that happen and help them develop as far as they can in their home environment.”

Nugent has been involved with the Australian swimming program since the late 1980s, when he coached at Melbourne-based club Nunawading.

He oversaw Australia’s  medal haul at the 2004 Athens Olympics as well as its comparable failure at the 2012 London Olympics.

Two reviews into the London debacle unearthed revelations of swimmers harassing female teammates and taking prescription drug Stilnox.

Nugent was reluctant to talk about his resignation but said the change in role had been refreshing.

“There comes a time you’ve probably exhausted yourself,” he said. Nugent said 18-year-old Jones, who will swim at the world junior championships in Dubai in late August, was an exciting prospect.

“The World Junior Championships he’s going to is a great event — I think you’ll find he’s got the capability,” he said.

“You have to have that hunger too and he seems to have that to progress to the next level.

“Nick D’Arcy is finishing in the 200-metre butterfly now and we’ve got another fella who has stepped up in Grant Irvine.

“He was a bit like Isaac is, he was just a kid and he’s gradually pushed his way up and now he’s ranked second or third in the world.

“There’s no reason, without putting pressure on Isaac, he can’t progress in the same way.”