Kent chief executive Jamie Clifford has challenged his players to prove they can perform under pressure.

Sam Northeast’s team prepare for a season-ending run of five Specsavers County Championship matches in five weeks that could bring promotion into Division One or yet another near miss in terms of tangible success.

Home matches against Leicestershire, starting on Bank Holiday Monday, and Glamorgan, in the last week of the season on September 25-28, bookend a run of three away fixtures at Durham, Gloucestershire and Derbyshire – and Kent’s players know they could not ask for a better-looking run-in as they aim to finish in one of the two second division promotion places.

Currently, Kent are in fifth position but level on 132 points with fourth-placed Sussex and just two points behind Northants in third. Nottinghamshire head Division Two with 184 points, and look certain to go up, while Worcestershire lie second with 149 points. But Kent, like Northants and Sussex, have a game in hand on the top two while all Kent’s promotion rivals have a far tougher final month or so in prospect.

“This is another crunch period for the team, and we have a massive opportunity to win promotion this year,” said Clifford, who has also not ruled out another overseas signing if New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne’s fitness is not thought to be up to playing a run of four-day matches.

“We will be looking at all options because we know just how important these next five weeks are going to be for the club,” added Clifford. “Finishing second in Division Two last season, when only one team could be promoted, was hugely frustrating and we have also had to deal with big match disappointments in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast and in recent seasons in one-day competitions.

“Hopefully, the players will take added motivation from all of that in terms of showing they can perform under pressure, because in sport one of the ways you do get better is by learning from your disappointments.”

Kent would have qualified for this week’s T20 Blast quarter-finals if they had beaten Surrey at Canterbury in their final South Group match, but Northeast’s side lost by ten runs after restricting their opponents to what seemed a gettable total. In recent seasons they have been beaten in various quarter-final and semi-final ties in limited-overs competition and, in the championship, there have also been must-win games in the last couple of years that have got away from them.

The next five matches, then, do represent a real test of nerve – as well as ability – for Northeast and his team but, with several younger players like Zak Crawley, Charlie Hartley, Matt Hunn and Calum Haggett all performing well in Kent’s three-day game against West Indies during the 166th Canterbury Cricket Week earlier this month, there is certainly competition for places.

Sam Billings, the England limited-overs international, is available for at least the next two championship fixtures, against Leicestershire next week and then the away trip to play Durham at Chester-le-Street, and it has not escaped Kent’s notice that runaway leaders Nottinghamshire’s last four fixtures are against their own closest promotion rivals Northants (twice), Worcestershire and Sussex. That could give Kent an added advantage in the potentially dramatic weeks ahead.