Nick Faldo fears for the future of the next Ryder Cup should Mark James be allowed to act as vice-captain at The Belfry in 2001.

James captained the European side last year in Boston when they suffered a highly controversial defeat at the hands of the Americans, and has been asked by new captain Sam Torrance to be his understudy next year.

But James sparked a furore last week when a series of excerpts from his new book were printed in The Times, revealing intimate details of behind-the-scenes events at the Brookline Country Club.

"I really believe that if Mark's a part of the team at the next Ryder Cup, it's going to stir the whole thing up again," said Faldo.

"It's going to create a volcano, and who knows what is going to happen when it erupts.

"Mark's comments have provided fuel to the fire when I think we all agree that, when it comes to the next Ryder Cup, it's all got to come down a couple of notches."

The six-time Major winner also believes James has lost the trust of the European players.

"The trust for me, and I would have thought an awful lot of other players, has gone out of the window.

"Suddenly a guy has gone over the boundary lines of revealing what goes on in a team room. I think that some confidences have to be kept," Faldo said.

In the US, Tom Lehman's brother and agent Jim, has put more pressure on James by backing the six-time Major winner's view.

"It seems to me that his role should be to try and make the event better, not to create a situation where people continue to accuse other people of doing things," he said.

There is certainly no love lost between James and 1996 Open winner Lehman. Both were at the centre of last year's highly controversial event.

Lehman was slammed by James and new captain Torrance after he sparked mass celebrations from the home team on the 17th green when prematurely celebrating victory after Justin Leonard had sunk a monster putt.

A subsequent war of words ensued, and Lehman believes James' book has only served to re-open old wounds.

"It's unfortunate that James is trying to make money based on a situation where both sides were clearly very passionate about what happened. He is attempting to make money by stirring the pot again," said the player's brother.

United States Presidents Cup captain Ken Venturi, meanwhile, fears the worst at the 2001 Ryder Cup.

"I will tell you this. I do believe when the Ryder Cup goes back to Europe it's going to be something.

"They, the Europeans, are not letting it die. They are inciting the people," he said.