Jamie Clifford says he believes Kent County Cricket Club have the chance to forge another golden chapter in their history.

The county’s acting chief executive admits he is just about old enough to remember the club’s glory era in the 1970s and 80s and feels they could be on the threshold of another.

Mr Clifford, who took over as acting chief executive following Paul Millman’s retirement last week, says it is an exciting time on and off the pitch.

The 33-year-old said: "We could be very gloomy. We’re in the depths of a recession. The redevelopment project hasn’t started yet and the financial demands on the club are not reducing.

"But there are lots of things going for us. The planning permission is there for the redevelopment. We’ve got support from the city council and on the cricket front, we’ve got a successful side.

"Getting promotion back to Division 1 (of the LV County Championship) at the first attempt was brilliant news.

"Think back five years and our one-day cricket was not our strongest suit but the guys have worked hard and to reach Twenty20 finals day three years running is a tremendous achievement."

Mr Clifford became the Kent Cricket Board’s director of cricket development in 2002 and later combined that role with that of director of business development. He will continue to operate in the latter role despite taking on his new duties.