AS any manager in sport will know, having the support of the dressing room is crucial writes Richard Mulligan

And for Lancashire boss Mike Watkinson that has been especially important during his first season in charge.

The Boltonian was faced with all kinds of problems when he took over, with the departures of stalwarts such as Michael Atherton, Ian Austin and John Crawley.

But with the right people around him for his debut campaign, things are moving forward at Old Trafford.

"There is a nice fresh feel about things, and the players have taken a lead in that," says Watkinson. "They perform with such energy that it rubs off on the whole operation. There is a nice feel about the club at the moment and there are hopefully good times ahead.

"At the start of the season I did not have expectations as manager. I was confident in the role and was not unduly affected by retirements and other problems.

"I'm used to working in an office environment and I had also been captain of the county side, so I already had a fair idea of what the manager needed to provide for the rest of the staff.

"I was helped greatly by some of the more experienced players. David Byas may not have got the amount of runs that he would have liked, but his spirit was infectious and he could make a positive out of any situation. He's a fantastic example to the youngsters we have here."

Players such as Byas have been brought to Lancs with the express idea of supplementing the youth that is being groomed at the club.

That will be helped by the Academy, which officially opens next month, and by the fact that Watkinson has been offered a new contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2005.

"A bit of continuity is something that is required, and the club are backing that," he says. "The contract helps me because it means that longer term objectives are as important as short term.

"People who watch from afar and follow the team through scorecards in the papers maybe don't see some of the things behind the scenes that are going to be beneficial in the years ahead."

Few could have missed the impact that home-grown stars James Anderson and Chris Schofield made during the season.

Fast bowler Anderson took 55 wickets in 15 games in his first full season, while all-rounder Schofield made 91 versus Warwickshire in September.

"I have to be happy with what Jimmy has done," continues Watkinson.

"Last season he was a second team cricketer and has made rapid progress. Hopefully he will continue that, but he must keep his feet on the ground and take just a few steps at a time.

"Schoey felt a bit of pressure in the middle of the season so we gave him a bit of brief to work on his batting and get confidence back in his game by working on other things.

"That seemed to work because by the end of the season he was scoring runs, and shifting wickets as well."

While Watkinson was determined to give many of the county's budding hopefuls a chance, it was important that Lancashire also concentrated on the season in hand.

From that point of view, Watkinson was pleased with the team's performance throughout.

"We were never going to win the Championship from the first day to the last because we need a bit more strength in depth," he reflects.

"We wanted to finish as high as possible but the main thing was to not get relegated and then spend the next couple of years battling to get out of it again.

"It was an achievement to stay up because this is a team that, on paper, is down on quality compared with that you would usually see turning out for Lancashire.

"But any shortage of quality was made up for in terms of character, spirit and fight. I cannot praise the players enough because they kept going through difficult situations.

"To finish fourth is a satisfying achievement. When they were staring difficult times in the face they came away with top results.

"At one time we lost the Roses game and then went on to win in testing circumstances at Sussex. It's results like that I look back upon and am really proud.

"However, in the National League I felt that promotion was quite achievable so was a little disappointed that we did not make that.

"But hopefully the players have learned a few of the basic things, and next season I'm sure we will give a better account of ourselves and really push for the top division."

Next season actually begins in December when the players return for winter training.

Before then Watkinson will have completed four weeks of ECB coaching modules, showing that he expects as much improvement from himself as he demands from the players.

But while results and performances are so important in professional sport, Watkinson's highlight of his first season at the helm came through a conversation with Stuart Law.

He recalls: "I had brought Stuart in because he was desperate to get away from Essex. At the end of the season he told me that he had thoroughly enjoyed his time with Lancashire and could not wait for the start of the new season. I got a lot of satisfaction from that."