DALE GARLAND and Tom Druce were both on song on the boards at the National Indoor Arena yesterday.

Competing at the Birmingham Games as a warm-up to the UK championships and European trials in a fortnight, both 400m men went away happy.

In Garland’s case, that meant a season’s best 47.5sec. and a silver medal behind Nick Leavey of Thames Valley Harriers, for Druce a new indoor best of 47.96sec.

‘It’s going in the right direction,’ said Garland (pictured), whose preparations in recent weeks have been plagued by a hamstring niggle and a chest infection.

Third at the break at halfway, Garland left himself with just too much to do on the last 200m circuit and crossed the line two-tenths behind Leavey.

Garland and Druce had clashed in the semi-finals and with just the first two to go through, the former KO’d his GIAAC colleague by crossing the line first with Liverpool’s Phil Taylor second.