Departing coach Gibson denies he is fired up to prove Yorkshire wrong

Gibson has led Yorkshire to four victories in their last five Championship games having gone winless in 30 of his previous 34 Championship fixtures in charge.

The club wanted to go in a different direction but the timing has come to look increasingly awkward, with Yorkshire going into their final two games in the second and final promotion place – 15 points clear of third-placed Middlesex.

Asked whether he would see it as a chance to throw it back at those who have decided he has no future at the club, Gibson said: “That’s not in my mind at all. Going up is still our ultimate aim, despite whatever decisions have been made.

“I can’t control those things. I just control the playing aspect of developing young players for Yorkshire and winning games, and at the minute we’re winning games and hopefully we can continue to win games for two more weeks and then I can take off to Barbados and enjoy the rest of my life.”

Such has been the upturn in Yorkshire’s fortunes, with the club having gone from second-bottom to second-top during its winning sequence, Gibson also responded to the notion that he might even hope Yorkshire change their decision.

The club is now strong favourites to go up with leaders Sussex as it heads into the match against Glamorgan in Cardiff starting on Tuesday, which is followed by the final fixture of the campaign against Northamptonshire at Headingley beginning on Thursday week.

“I think the decision was going to be made no matter what sort of season we had,” he said. “Therefore, I don’t think results are going to impact that decision.

“We’re hoping to have two more positive results, but I don’t think that will alter the decision that was made. We’ve been playing some really good cricket for a number of weeks now, and hopefully we can get over the line.”

Asked to explain the improvement in fortunes, Gibson said it was essentially a process of evolution and bonds behind the scenes.

Yorkshire were winless in seven Championship fixtures this year before they beat Gloucestershire at Scarborough towards the end of June, since when they have beaten Derbyshire at Chesterfield, Sussex at Scarborough, drawn with Middlesex at Headingley and then beat Leicestershire at Grace Road last week.

“Coaching is about building relationships,” said Gibson, “and if you’ve been married and divorced and married again, like I have, relationships take time.

“We’ve had two years of turmoil, and then this year we’ve had nothing really hanging over us (in terms of points deductions after the racism scandal).

“What you’re seeing in the fact that we’re winning games is the fruits of that tough two years and the relationships that myself and the coaching team have built with the players, that we can say ‘go out and do x, y and z’ and those guys will go out and do that and back what we’re saying.

“The relationships have started to show out in the middle, and that’s what coaching is all about as far as I’m concerned.”

Yorkshire will be boosted again by the availability of Jonny Bairstow in Cardiff, but they are still without club captain Shan Masood, who is playing in the Champions One-Day Cup in Pakistan, a 50-over competition that runs from September 12-29.

Masood’s involvement with Stallions, one of five sides taking part in the tournament in Faisalabad, would appear to rule him out of the last Championship fixture also, given that it is also scheduled to finish on September 29.

However, there are various eliminators and qualifiers before that day, and no official confirmation from Yorkshire at this stage.

For the record, Masood has played two matches for Stallions, scoring 41 against Lions and 19 against Markhors.

In his absence, Yorkshire have been led very well by Jonny Tattersall in any case, with Tattersall leading from the front with a magnificent hundred at Leicester last week.

Meanwhile, Gibson is calling for more of the same from his players in South Wales, where they were greeted with glorious sunshine on Monday and a good forecast up until Friday at least.

“I’m really proud of the lads and the way that they’re playing,” he said.

“I’ve been singing their praises for a number of weeks now, and the way that we played at Leicester was indicative of that.”

Yorkshire (from): Bairstow, Bean, Bess, Coad, Cliff, Fisher, Hill, Lyth, Luxton, Moriarty, Tattersall (captain), Thompson, Wharton.