Kent chief executive Paul Millman says the county face challenging times ahead on and off the pitch in the wake of this week’s announcement that the county made an operating loss of more than £706,000 last year.

The figures revealed the county spent £1m on architects and professional fees and costs connected with the planned re-development of the St Lawrence Ground which was halted when the proposed developers pulled out.

Mr Millman insists the development remains key to the club’s long-term strategy. He said: "Our aim is to get the finances back to at least break even but it will be a challenge.

"We are trying very hard to maintain what we want as a club and the members want which is to have a first class team out on the pitch competing in all competitions, that’s our first objective.

"The ground re-development is fundamental to the viability of the club. 45 days cricket does not make the business viable, so we have to look at other forms of income to make ends meet. The timing is the issue, and fundamental to the club’s future prosperity. We lost 14 days last summer which makes a major impact on the trading of the business."

However Mr Millman says the poor figures won’t impact on the strength of the club’s playing staff. He added: "The balance of the squad is as it was last year, and we want to try and get out of Division 2.

"Things may change because we have Amjad Khan, Joe Denly and Robert Key all pressing England claims, and all Kent members want to see them playing, while Robbie Joseph has just been called up by the England Lions squad in New Zealand.

"John Wright has to take huge credit for first spotting Amjad in Denmark, but it’s taken six to eight years to get to this point. Amjad has travelled around the world a lot in search of a cap, and we have hope he gets it over the next few weeks.

"Having three or four players with the England Lions is probably more than any other county, and it’s a credit to the coaching staff and systems that we are producing cricketers who are close to honours. It only takes one or two to justify it and make it pay, and I am sure we will produce more."