Pain of relegation persuaded Darren Gough to continue at Yorkshire CCC

Gough returned to the club on an interim basis last December after the previous coaching team were removed at the height of the racism crisis.

The former Yorkshire and England fast bowler signed a permanent contract last month and admitted that the clinching factor was his desire to help the club back to winning ways.

“Getting relegated kind of sealed it for me,” said Gough, who left a lucrative broadcasting career to go back into cricket.

“I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do, I’ll be honest, but that (relegation) was probably the defining moment.

“The easiest thing for me to do would have been to walk and just say it was impossible, but it’s not; there’s a lot of positive things going on (at the club).

"It’s certainly not easy, and there’s a lot that needs doing, but I’m passionate about this and I want to make a difference.”

Gough, 52, said he wanted to continue “as long as they (Yorkshire) want me”. However, he feels that such roles have a shelf-life.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “I do think there’s a timeline for this sort of job; I don’t think it’s a job you do for 10 years. I honestly don’t believe that.

“But I have a huge passion and history of playing for Yorkshire, and although some people said to me when I came back, ‘What are you doing? You’ve got a good job, well-paid, it’s a stupid job to take,’ I wanted to help and take the club forward.”

Gough, who left his role on radio station TalkSPORT, where he had worked since retiring from the game in 2008, said that relegation was a bitter pill to swallow.

Yorkshire went down on the final day of the season when Warwickshire beat Hampshire by five runs at Edgbaston, with Yorkshire paying the price for six defeats in their last eight games.

“I was gutted,” said Gough. “I didn’t speak to anybody for four or five days. I thought we could survive but we deserved to get relegated.

"We weren’t good enough with the ball and we didn’t get enough runs. There was a bit of everything - what had gone on, the timing of when we (the new coaches) took over, to new people (backroom staff) coming in throughout the year, to a lack of experience due to England call-ups, you name it. It was very difficult.

“But I’m confident going into next season. The players, I think, will be in a better place, we’ve got some very good players and some good young players. Realistically, we’re still one of the strongest counties out there. We’ve got a pathway that’s got 800 cricket clubs. Yorkshire is a huge county.

“We also understand, as Yorkshire, that we have a responsibility to be in the top division and to be competing for trophies. At the minute, we’ve been relegated and that motivates everyone - not just me.

“Obviously, the dream is to get promoted, but of course a lot will depend on availability. I think realistically people within the club realise where we’re at, and they know it’s going to take a bit to recover.”

Gough has tied 11 players to contract extensions in recent times, recruited good overseas players for next season and is in the process of sending several of his young batsmen to India and several bowlers to Dubai, ensuring that pretty much everyone is out during January playing abroad.

Others will be training with Lahore Qalandars before the squad get together properly at Headingley in February ahead of a pre-season tour to Cape Town in March.

“The players have been doing lots of things as a group since November, and now all of those who are around and available are going somewhere this winter; the only one who’s not is (Matt) Milnes, who is working on his fitness,” added Gough.

“Overall, this winter period is all about creating a bond, a closeness with all the new staff who’ve come in, and this is the first winter where we can really influence stuff and the players have had time to adjust and adapt.

“Another factor last year was that 15 players were out of contract, and we couldn’t do anything about it until we had a new board.

“All the unpredictability of last year’s pre-season played a part in what happened during the summer, as well as international call-ups, but this winter I believe we’re already seeing a positive difference.”

Gough has brought in new hybrid pitches for practice purposes and is keen that the dressing room areas are better branded and brought up to speed.

“Lately, I’ve been here trying to organise a pre-season, trying to tidy up the ground, getting pitches out there for practice, I’m working on nets at the moment, working on redesigning the dressing room facilities, making it more like a home, because it’s more like a classroom than a home,” he said.

“You go to every other dressing room in the country and it’s a dressing room; ours is a classroom, so I’m trying to change the environment we’re playing in, too.”