Zac Toumazi has told of his delight at having two tried and trusted Sussex stars at the Hove helm.

But, as the county aim to bounce back from Championship relegation and revive their one-day fortunes, the chief executive admits they also need new faces on and off the pitch.

Toumazi has told The Argus the county are moving into “exciting times” as former spinner Mark Davis takes over in charge of first team affairs with Luke Wright as his recently-appointed skipper.

Sussex could still employ an overall head of cricket at some stage after seeing Mark Robinson depart to take charge of the England women’s team.

But Toumazi said an appointment was not certain and that the role could be slightly different to that Robinson would have assumed following a recent rejig of the coaching structure.

Toumazi said: “Mark Davis has worked very closely with Mark Robinson and has been developing all the time.

“I think the time is right for him to take it and make it his own.

“He is a very clear thinker, which is really important.

“He has a very good, direct, open and honest approach and I think the players will respect that and he has standards.

“I think his technical ability speaks for itself as an excellent coach. He is a hard-working individual and he is totally committed.

“You get relegated and the view of the world is to fire everybody.

“Actually we are not a bad county and we did not become a bad club overnight.

“We have got a new captain. We have got a new coach. Okay, he has been here but he has earned his place here legitimately. I think it is now important they forge their relationship and take this forward.

“But we will inject new blood into the organisation.”

That new blood will include a batting coach and on-field additions with a hard-hitting batsman or batting all-rounder high on the hit list.

Former Sussex stars Chris Adams and Matt Prior have expressed an interest in rejoining the county at different stages. But Toumazi was unwilling to reveal who was under consideration for the job.

He said: “We looked outside but I always came back to this being the right thing for Sussex cricket.

“There are a lot of people interested in coming back here but I don’t do recruitment in the public eye.”

Toumazi still sees the need for an overall cricket supremo.

He said: “Mark (Robinson) was going to come into a director of cricket role, working on a broad strategy and using his extensive knowledge.

“This move came out of the blue really. He came and saw me – and we’ve got an amazing relationship – and I gave him my view.

“I didn’t push him in this direction. I wouldn’t do that. It was his decision, I’ve supported it.

“He has been here a long time. He has got a right to grow.

“We want to move towards a broader organisation, looking at all aspects of cricket.

“We have got some ideas. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say what we are going to recruit or how we are going to recruit at this stage.

“But I think it’s not a case of the job was built for Mark Robinson and now he has gone it won’t happen. There is still a need but it has got to be within the context of what our challenges are and what we can afford.”

Toumazi sees rebuilding the first team squad as an immediate priority.

He said: “We have had to make some tough decisions here to reduce the squad size.

“Our budget is approved now and we have had our first meeting under the new regime to talk about what we need.

“We have got ideas – we have had ideas for a while. Now we have to narrow down who we bring in.”