It's an honour to start my new position as Head Coach of Glamorgan CCC. I am looking forward to working hard and to do my utmost to take the side where it wants and needs to go.
In many ways, Glamorgan represents a country - it takes in the whole of Wales. We have a fantastic stadium, a strong supporter base and a number of talented players, so I would love to see The Club in the First Division of the County Championship.
As Head Coach, it is my role to manage the players and the support staff and in the winter months to maximise technical input with the players before next season quickly descends upon us.
I spent a lot of time working with Andrew Strauss on his batting during my time at Middlesex and for the past few years have been coaching the West Indies batsmen.
To me, cricket is an individual game in a team setting, and if a core of individuals is performing then there is far more chance of team success. We have a group of talented young batters at Glamorgan and I am hoping that with some hard work over the next few months that they can boost their batting averages from the mid twenties into the thirties and beyond.
Robert Croft, Steve Watkin and I will be working closely together as a tight coaching unit; I am also looking forward to forging a strong working partnership with Director of Cricket Hugh Morris when he starts in January. His appointment is a major coup for Glamorgan.
We hope to be pushing hard for promotion next season. I know it's going to be a challenge for us and we' are not going to turn things around overnight. I am keen to produce more talent from within Wales and through our system so that we can create a conveyor belt of talent that can perform on the field for Glamorgan and create sustained success for the future.
I am currently meeting the players individually to chat about their game, review their footage and conduct group and one-to-one sessions with them as we prepare for the new season. I am a big believer in using the winter wisely. I personally feel the best work I did at Middlesex, developing the likes of Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan and working with Andrew Strauss, or the West Indies players, was achieved through hard graft in indoor halls.
There's no easy way to success - you have to put in the hard work. Even that doesn't guarantee it but it does give you a better chance.
With the Club investing in a marquee, we hope to be training on grass underneath it by February. Practising on the sort of surfaces we are likely to play on in competitive matches in April and may be very beneficial to us. Most of the players we have presently playing overseas in Australia and South Africa will be back practising with us in early March for our official pre-season training.
March may seem a long way off, but the players are back in training, the fixtures are expected to be published before the end of this month and for me, the season starts now.
Toby Radford
