BUTCH Reynolds is taking a two-year time-out in an attempt to dethrone Michael Johnson and reimpose himself on the 400 metres, he said yesterday.

He wants to take the World title in Seville next year, the Olympic crown in Sydney, and to lower his own world record - 10 years old this month.

Stigmatised by a doping charge of which he still maintains his innocence, and embittered by his failure to collect a cent from a $27m lawsuit won against the international federation, the American has seen his countryman capture World and Olympic titles, to dominate the event he himself once owned, even though his own world record survives.

''I'm not going to say Michael stole my candy, but every athlete has a piece of the pie, and Michael has eaten it pretty good,'' he said.

Reynolds is in Glasgow for the SPAR British Challenge between the UK and USA, and insists his best years are still ahead. ''I am going back to being a world-class athlete for two years,'' he said.

''I have set myself next year's World Championships as a major target. I haven't beaten Michael yet - anyone you haven't beaten, you want to beat. I want to beat him in a major competition, and I hope my time is coming.''

Reynolds has cut back on work with a children's trust which he runs, and on his full-time job, as assistant track coach in Columbus, Ohio, the city where a court threw out the doping case against him, and awarded damages on a scale unprecedented in track and field history.

''The Supreme Court ruled there was no jurisdiction, that it was a matter for sport. Our dope test on Reynolds was effectively upheld,'' insists the international federation spokesman, Giorgio Reineri.

''Training has come third too much recently,'' said Reynolds who is attempting to put the negative experience behind him. ''I've taken leave of absence from the foundation and coaching, and want to concentrate on athletics for two years.''

The record of 43.29, which he set in Zurich 10 years ago last week, has been approached only by Johnson. ''Only one man has been there, and that's me, and as I get older, I believe I can get there again, provided I can get rid of my mental stress, then the rest will follow.'' The stress relates to the positive steroid test and the subsequent court cases - two approaches to the US Supreme Court.

''My own urine sample proved that I was inncocent. The federation could not admit to making a mistake. It was a mix-up in the actual samples, not the paperwork. The sample they said I was guilty on was not my sample. Everyone knows that. I'm not saying anything that a judge or a doctor would not say. There was no way that sample could have been mine.

''My grandfather told me to clear the family name. I did not know how much it meant until I was accused of doing drugs. I feel I have restored my name. Losing it hurt more than losing the $27m, but now the case is over, losing the money hurts more than being told I had tested positive.

''When I got slammed like that it left a bitter taste. It was like a personal relationship, like finding out someone was cheating on you, but time heals all wounds, and I'm glad to say that time has healed this wound here.

''It was way more money than $27m - only my family and friends know how much it cost - you will never know till I write my book ''

He is not surprised by the durability of his record: ''That record took a lot of pain. It hurt pretty bad. The best people in the world were in that field.

''All it means is that at 8.30 on the 17th of August, 1988, my time proved the best. Records are meant to be broken. I hold Lee Evans (whose 20-year-old record he broke) as the man, and I hope whoever breaks my record gives it the same respect I gave to Evans.''

Now he is back in the city where he once set a world record only to be disqualified.

When Glasgow's Kelvin Hall track opened, he set a world indoor best, but trod on the line. ''There's no ill-feeling. I hear you ruled out a world hurdles record by Colin Jackson here, so it's not just Americans.''

Tomorrow, Reynolds faces Britain's European champion, Iwan Thomas, one of several Britons currently running inside 45 seconds, but who seem unable to join the elite club of seven - all US - who have clocked a time inside 44 seconds. ''Seeing is believing,'' says Reynolds. ''When one does it, the rest will believe they can do it as well.''

On his return, after his ban Reynolds helped the US 4 x 400m quartet break the world record by more than a second. Johnson, on the anchor, was timed at 42.93sec., 0.36 inside Reynolds' world best.

The federation president, Primo Nebiolo, made a point of presenting Reynolds' medal, kissing him on both cheeks. ''You are a strong man,'' he said.

Strong enough for Thomas? We shall see.

q Bunney's relay regret - see Page 13