For Cumbrian Paul Nixon, the challenge he faced upon his return to Leicestershire Cricket Club as head coach for the 2018 season could scarcely have been tougher.

Last year, Leicestershire finished bottom of County Championship Division Two, failing to win any of their 14 matches.

But having spent the majority of his playing career with the Grace Road outfit, the former England wicketkeeper, from Langwathby near Penrith, certainly appeared to get Leicestershire moving in the right direction again this summer, particularly in the County Championship where they came sixth, this time winning five of their 14 games.

There is more work to do in the one-day game, though, where they finished second bottom in both their Royal London One-Day Cup and Vitality T20 Blast groups.

"I was really pleased with the progression we have made," the 48-year-old admits.

"We hadn’t won matches previously and finished bottom of the championship [in 2017].

"There was a lot of unrest in the camp and, last year, they hadn’t bowled any team out twice in the County Championship. So, there was really good progression in many areas.

"It was a bit of a tale of two halves, really [this year]. We were third at halfway and ended up finishing sixth.

"But we are a really tight unit which is great. We have shown massive progression in our behaviour, standards and culture. We bowled teams out twice seven or eight times.

"So, I’m delighted the bowling came to the forefront, and I think we only missed a couple of bowling points all summer, so there was fantastic progression there."

But Nixon, who won the County Championship twice as a Leicestershire player, knows it may take time before the club hits those kinds of heights again.

He concedes: "It’s going to take three or four years to shape it [the squad] properly.

"Our staff was too big, so we needed to make our squad a lot smaller which helped us financially. But it’s still very much a work in progress and we need to make sure that we maximise this winter.

"Now I’ve had a full 12 months in charge, we have our benchmarks in where everybody is in all assets of their game and their lifestyle, as well.

"We are in a much better place to plan and move forward than where we were last year."

Carlisle-born Nixon has also been particularly pleased with how Leicestershire’s new-look coaching team have gelled.

"We had a brand-new management group that worked together and we became very tight. We are building the foundations," he explains.

"That’s gone from our academy levels to the first-team squad.

"Academy-wise, we have brought in Paul Johnson who is an ex-Nottinghamshire player. We also have Trevor Ward, so we have a lot of ex-professionals at a grassroots level.

"The first-team has gelled really well, too, with Matt Mason coming in from Worcestershire and Tom Smith coming in to coach from Lancashire, coupled with John Sadler and myself.

"We have found out a lot about each other. The trust I have in them is everything, really.

"I know they are great blokes that care both about the club and the individuals in the club.

"And we won games of cricket. Games of cricket, especially four-day games, are tough to win.

"We are all working together to keep progressing next year."

Some of Leicestershire’s young players have come through the ranks, too - albeit at a cost in certain circumstances.

"Young Ben Mike had a whirlwind start. He reminded me a lot of a young Stuart Broad with the way he came in and dominated right from his first spell of bowling, which was fantastic," Nixon enthuses.

"He can bat, as well. He is a level-headed kid with a desire to play at the highest level.

"We also have young Harry Swindells who made his debut in one-day cricket, which was great. He has come back after a tough time out with a cruciate knee injury.

"We are disappointed to lose Ben Raine and Zak Chappell after bringing Zak through.

"Notts came in for Zak, which was frustrating and disappointing for us, but we still see that as progression for us because we are producing good cricketers."

Prior to getting the Leicestershire job, Nixon had enjoyed coaching success in the Caribbean, twice winning the Caribbean Premier League.

But Nixon acknowledges coaching back in England is a very different proposition.

"It was brilliant to come back. Obviously, this is a much bigger job than an eight-week job in the West Indies," he says. “It has different challenges.

"This is more a five or six day-a-week job that covers a lot of different areas. It’s a brilliantly challenging job, but also, a very rewarding job, too."