Kent’s Jimmy Adams has declared himself pleased with what he has seen so far as he settles into his post at the St Lawrence Ground.

The former West Indian Captain, 44, was named Head Coach at the start of January, and arrived at the club earlier this month.

As he and the players get into the routine of pre-season nets and training, Adams is happy with how things have gone in his first few weeks.

He said: “The response has been really positive. It’s great to see a group of young players [and] you can almost feel the desire that they have. They want to get better, they like to be a part of a unit that is doing well and it’s good pressure on me and the rest of the support staff to try and give them that environment.”

Many Kent fans are wondering if and when an overseas signing for the coming season will be arriving at the club. However, nothing is yet confirmed. Adams said: “There’s not a day that passes where myself, Rob [Key, Club Captain] and Jamie [Clifford, CEO] aren’t sitting down just getting updates on where we are.”

Adams believes that they will have someone in place come the opening game, though. He said: “I do believe that, come April 5th, we will have the team that we always wanted and that team will be capable of bringing results.”

He admits that they have had discussions over what areas they are looking to strengthen in, but chose not to disclose any more information at this point in time.

The majority of the squad will be flying out to Antigua for a 10-day training camp on 7th March, and Adams believes that this and the other preparation work being done, will help the club come the start of the season.

He said: “There’s always work to do going into a season. There’s the physical side… and also trying to start the process of bringing a unit together. I firmly believe that if we’re going to have successes it’s going to be on the back of building a unit, and that takes time. I do believe that if we can get stronger and stronger in that capacity a lot of other things automatically grow with that.”

When asked as to his prediction for what the club can aim to achieve next season, Adams admitted that he just wants the players to perform to the best of their abilities, saying: “If the players put their best on the table, I’ll take whatever we get at the end of the season, as long as I’m happy that this is the best we could have gotten from this group. Obviously if [I could] wave a magic wand, I’d love to be in the First Division next year having won the 40-overs and the T20, but I have to break it down and say, ‘How am I going to get the best out of the players?’.”

One other issue for some Kent fans has been the worry over some of the most experienced players, including Geraint Jones, Darren Stevens and James Tredwell, being out of contract at the end of the season.

Adams hopes they will remain at the club for a while, though. He said: “I think it’s a strong position to be in if whatever we have constructed is reason enough [for them to stay], and I see that as the ideal situation. You’re talking about people who have had years of experience and are still young enough that they could have quite a few good years ahead of them, and it would be fantastic if come 2013/14, and hopefully beyond, they’re still here.

Kent will kick off their LV= County Championship Division Two campaign on 5th April, when they face Yorkshire at the Headingley Carnegie.

Pictures by Sarah Ansell. To see more of Sarah’s pictures, visit www.sarahcanterbury.com