Ex-major Nigel Russell, Sussex's new chief executive, is definitely not a throwback to the days when the county was invariably run by old duffers with a services background.

The 18 months Russell spent working for United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan at the end of his Army career might come in handy if things get a bit heated in the committee room.

But early impressions are that the club have chosen wisely, even if it took them five months before finally landing Dave Gilbert's replacement.

The 53-year-old is clearly passionate about the game and Sussex cricket in particular. And he is well aware that he could not have picked a better time to start what he calls his dream job.

Russell reckons the current side is the best since his pal John Barclay took the county to within a point of the Championship in 1982.

Off the field the long-awaited and much needed redevelopment of the County Ground is finally underway. The bulldozers moved in to start phase one this week with the demolition of the squash courts which will soon become a new indoor centre.

"All my cricketing pals told me I had to go for this job and when I was told I had been successful it was the greatest thrill," he said.

"It's my dream job, but there's no sentimentality involved even though I have a love for Hove, a love for cricket and a love for Sussex.

"I'm lucky that I'm coming here when the club is on the crest of a wave. Everyone at Sussex is extremely focussed on where the club should be going."

Russell had ideas of making a career out of the game himself in his school days. He played for the young cricketers and still turns out for Sussex Martlets, describing himself as someone who "bats a bit and bowls off spin - a bit."

His Army career, and the five years he subsequently spent as bursar of an independent school in Oxted, have often taken him away from the county.

Thoughts of Hove were never far away. One of his major aims is to make sure a few more people develop similar sentiments.

"We are finally at a stage where we can actively move the club forward because we have the ability to improve the ground and the facilities," he said.

"If we do that and develop a much stronger membership and commercial base then the only way the club can go is up. One of my aims is to increase membership and improve people's perception of the county, especially outside Brighton and Hove, to make them feel more a part of the club."

Russell takes up his post in mid-July. He believes the club's managers already run things well so there are unlikely to be many changes, particularly on the playing side.

Instead, he feels it is his job to make sure that the climate is right off the field to encourage success on it.

"What happens on the field is very much a matter for Peter Moores and Chris Adams," he said.

"They are the experts and I am a great believer that managers manage.

"If they come up short then it is my job to find out why and put it right but not in a dictatorial way."

That sort of attitude has not always been prevalent among the top brass at Hove.

Russell may not be the perfect hybrid of cricketing, managerial and commercial experience that his predecessor possessed, but he clearly has Sussex cricket at heart.

"I love the club," he said.

"But I'm very much aware that this is a sporting business which has got to work and I'm really looking forward to helping make that happen."