By Matt Somerford
Lancashire cricket director Mike Watkinson is expecting a busy couple of weeks when the Red Rose begin the post-mortem into a season that brought a second relegation in three years.
Top of the discussion list is appointing a full-time coach after veteran all-rounder Glen Chapple filled to role following Peter Moores’ early-season appointment as England Head Coach.
Watkinson denies Moores’ exit should be used as an excuse for the club’s drop down in divisions, pointing out that they were a blow away from winning the NatWest T20 Blast.
A healthy Twenty20 season campaign aside it was otherwise a disappointing summer in the north-west with Watkinson admitting changes would now be made to a squad he thinks is too large.
"It might be a busy few weeks, I hope it's not going to be a busy winter,” Watkinson said.
“We need to look at our playing staff. As always we'll sit down and have meetings with each player, have an end-of-season review - that happens as a matter of course.
“The board and the club will decide how it approaches appointing a head coach. That process will commence now that the season has finished.
“There will be a reasonable amount of activity in the coming weeks and hopefully things will calm down and we can regroup and look forward to the new season."
Watkinson denied, however, that there was any pressure to appoint a new coach quickly.
"There isn't a timeframe (for appointing a coach),” he said.
“But we said as soon as the season was finished, or our destiny had been decided, then we would look at that in detail.”
Chapple is a candidate to take over the coach’s role full time - a move that would spell the end of an exceptional 23-season playing career.
Lancashire board member Paul Allott has already confirmed that the club was reticent to appoint a player-coach.
Andrew Flintoff has thrown his support behind Chapple, although the 40-year-old could be tempted into another season with just 25 wicket needed to reach the rarified air of 1,000 first-class scalps.
Not all bad for @LancsCCC they have a crop of good young players that @chappie03 should be given a chance to build a strong squad with !
— andrew flintoff (@flintoff11) September 26, 2014
In either case Chapple’s experience would again most likely be invaluable, especially if Lancashire opt to give youth a chance in the second division next term.
Most significantly in England Under-19s batsman Haseeb Hameed they have a talent in the waiting, although Watkinson is preaching some caution.
"One of the themes going forward is that we've got three extremely talented Under-17 cricketers,” he said.
“Can they hold their own in first team cricket? I think they probably can for the odd game or two. Can they play a full season? I'm not sure.
“They'll be involved in England Under-19s and all three have got A-Levels, so they'll have a lot on. But as the season unfolds I'd like to think there would be opportunities.
“If we are going to unearth gems we've got to expose them as early as we can.”
Watkinson confirmed players would leave the club to allow any youth policy to bear fruit.
Kyle Hogg is one confirmed departure after a back injury forced his retirementwhile Ashwell Prince may opt to call time on his career after returning back to South Africa this week.
"We need to get our numbers down or else giving people an opportunity isn't easy,” Watkinson said.
“Your second team gets cluttered and you can't get people in the second team quite as easy. We've lost a couple with injury and no doubt we'll lose a couple of others.
“No doubt we'll have some experienced players to give a good backbone to the side and some of these youngsters will get their opportunity.”
Lancashire have made one acquisition already after luring 23-year-old seamer Nathan Buck from Leicestershire.
Bolstering the batting line-up would appear a priority, though, after Lancashire posted more than 350 just twice this season.
"First-innings runs is something that we need to address,” Watkinson said.
“We need to get more batting points on the board. We need to get a toe hold in games a bit more so that we can control the match rather than slugging it out.”
Lancashire have immediately returned to the top-flight on the previous two occasions they have been relegated – in 2004 and 2012 – and were champions of Division Two last year.
The fight they displayed to take their relegation scrap with Middlesex to the final day of the season at Emirates Old Trafford proved they have the mettle for the job.
“Credit to the players they never lost any desire, enthusiasm, heart, spirit and the way they played their Twenty20 cricket this season showed what they've got and what they can give,” Watkinson said.
“We're just a little bit down on what the opposition have had on certain occasions and we are where we are.
"If there are any themes on the go, without wanting to go back to the start of the season too much, because I think we've moved on from there, but we had the disruption of Mooresy moving on.
"That was something we had to live with. We could have taken a more positive outcome on the back of that rather than use it as any reasons why, so we'll put that on one side and we'll look at ways we need to improve.
"I'm sure that Glen being a very important part of that this season will have his own views as well."
Watkinson expects no easy passage back to Division One, pointing to the fact that Surrey were unable to find their way back up this season.
"Nobody has a divine right. Surrey will reflect on a season and think that they shouldn't be in the second division,” he said.
“That will get higher on their agenda to get back out. I think it's important to get back out first time of asking. We've done that twice and we'll have to do that again.
“We want to make sure we are one of the teams pushing hard for the top. We need to get off to a good start and continue in a relentless fashion through the season.
“We need to get back to where we want to be and where we should be.”