As the old saying goes it is the hope that kills you.

Perhaps that is why the 2016 season was such a major let-down for Sussex supporters.

Optimism was overflowing at the start of the summer with the county hot favourites to bounce back instantly from relegation to division two of the Championship under the new leadership of head coach Mark Davis and skipper Luke Wright.

There was a real sense of expectation at Hove for the first time in years but it did not take long for the cracks to start to show.

Wright was ruled out for the opening six games of the season through injury and without him Sussex struggled to make much impression on the pitch By the middle of August they had won just once in the Championship – by ten-wickets at Derbyshire – and had failed to make the knockout stages in both the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup.

Three victories in their last six games lifted them to fourth in the table but it was far too little, too late considering the level of anticipation back in spring.

But the thing about hope is that it can be swiftly replenished. Sussex may have been unable to realise their own and their supporters’ dreams last season but there were definite signs that better days could be on the horizon.

The emergence of fast bowling trio George Garton, Jofra Archer and Stuart Whittingham was undoubtedly the main positive for Sussex in 2016.

They would probably not have got a chance if Sussex had been bouncing along at the top of the table with a fully fit squad so even the darkest clouds have a silver lining.

Davis – unlike his predecessor Mark Robinson – was willing to throw the youngsters in at the deep end to see how they would cope and all three proved they were more than up to the task.

Between them they picked up 51 Championship wickets in a combined tally of 16 games and if they stay fit and healthy Sussex look to have the nucleus of a fine seam attack in place for years to come.

That is comforting with the ever-consistent Steve Magoffin surely unable to carry the load too much longer. The Australian – who turns 37 this winter – picked up 62 wickets and the prospect of him operating in a five-man attack alongside the likes of Garton, Archer, Whittingham, Ollie Robinson, Chris Jordan and Danny Briggs next summer is a mouth-watering one.

But while the bowling cupboard at Hove is overflowing thanks in no small part to the efforts of coach Jon Lewis the same cannot be said for the batting department.

Ed Joyce led the way yet again and the prospect of him leaving Hove this winter to move back to Ireland will create a huge chasm that needs to be filled.

Joyce and fellow opener Chris Nash were the only players to pass 1,000 runs for the season while Ben Brown and Luke Wells had strong seasons too but few others emerged with much credit.

With the exception of Harry Finch, none of the youngsters – Phil Salt, Tom Haines, Christian Davis, Fynn Hudson-Prentice – were able to take their opportunities like their bowling counterparts while Matt Machan and Craig Cachopa took a step backwards rather than progressing.

And then there was the captain. Wright had held the Sussex middle order together for the last few years but in the six games he was fit to play in managed just two half-centuries and also failed to fire in white-ball cricket.

He will surely rediscover his form if he returns injury-free next summer and with a full season as captain under his belt but he will be well aware that Sussex need to bring in a couple of proven performers with the bat if they are to push for a return to the top flight.

Whether they have the financial muscle to get them is another matter but if Davis and Wright are able to pull a couple of rabbits out of the hat over the winter then that tingle of excitement would start to grow once again down at Hove.

One thing they can put right without too much difficulty is to bring in a batting coach for the whole season following the bodged short-term appointment of Murray Goodwin who was back in Australia before the season had really got going in earnest.

Lewis has highlighted that investing in a good coach more than pays for itself in the long run and with a bit of polishing Sussex’s batting prospects could make a similar breakthrough to the bowlers.

If that happened then we really would have something to get excited about.