I knew what I was letting myself in for - Yorkshire CCC head coach Ottis Gibson

The head coach was appointed at the height of the racism crisis after Andrew Gale, his predecessor, was sacked along with the rest of the coaching and medical staff following the allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq.

Yorkshire’s fate was sealed in dramatic fashion at Edgbaston on Thursday when Warwickshire beat Hampshire by five runs.

It meant that Warwickshire leapfrogged them and condemned second-bottom Yorkshire to their first season in Division Two since 2012.

“Over the course of a long season we didn’t do enough,” said Gibson, whose side lost six of their last eight games to go with two draws.

“It’s our own fault and we can’t blame any other factors.

“I always knew it was going to be a challenge, and the challenge wasn’t always going to be cricket.

“It was also about uniting the dressing room, uniting the club from top to bottom with what had gone on and stuff like that.

“I feel, for the most part, that we’ve done some good stuff this season. Away from the Championship, to get to Finals Day in the T20 Blast was fantastic and a great achievement.

“The lads have shown a lot of character at times but also a lot naivety in the four-day stuff, but they will learn from that.

“From a personal point of view, to have been given the opportunity to be head coach of Yorkshire is a fantastic one and a real good experience.

“I’ve enjoyed the experience even though the way things have ended up this year.”

Gibson is now turning his attention to the winter and beyond.

He wants to add more players and create greater competition for places.

“We don’t need to strip everything back and get all new players; we still back the guys that we’ve got,” he said.

“But the one thing I feel we need is competition for places. It will help us if we have a bigger and stronger squad.

“We need some help with our batting especially. We need to look into the market and see if we can find a quality middle-order batter to complement what we’ve got.

“We will look at what we need and make a decision. Do we need another overseas fast bowler, or do we need another spinner to complement what Dom Bess has done for us this year?

“We’ll sit down and look at where the holes are in our squad where we feel we need to add a bit more quality.”

Yorkshire batsman Harry Brook has gained a double nomination in the Professional Cricketers’ Association end-of-season awards.

Brook has been shortlisted for the cinch men’s player of the year award and the young player’s equivalent. He is already the reigning young player of the year.

Brook has had an outstanding season for Yorkshire and England and is up for the main accolade alongside his county and international team-mate Jonny Bairstow.

The awards takes place on October 6.