Kent chairman of cricket Graham Johnson has revealed preparations for the 2009 campaign began minutes after their relegation was confirmed last September.

Johnson described 2008 as a “season of frustration.”

He said: “There was a meeting involving George Kennedy, Paul Millman, Graham Ford, Rob Key and myself.

“We focused on the huge disappointment and said ‘are we up for 2009?’ and ‘what are we going to do about it?’ Nobody in that room was anything but positive.”

Johnson has also praised the club for not cutting the playing budget of around £2million despite their financial problems, and hailed it as “a statement of intent”.

He revealed ECB payments to counties over the next couple of years will benefit counties with more English qualified players in their squads.

“A significant proposed change coming in 2010 is going to be weighted in terms of England qualified players," he said.

“There are a whole range of things we have to get right, and the whole performance element is changing. We have to be aware of that and respond going forward.

“IPL has a potential impact on all our players, but only one – Ryan McLaren – has a contract.

“We have taken the decision as a club not to stand in his way and have also been made aware in the last week that somebody like Amjad Khan is attracting lots of interest.

“It’s still a moving feast, and we will try and accomodate that.”