Joe Clarke says the Nottinghamshire camp have been unflinching in their honesty as they look to take a step towards Division One consolidation at Canterbury.
Notts take on Kent from 10.30am on Tuesday 17 September in an all-important Vitality County Championship battle in the south-east.
New signing Jacob Duffy features in the 14-man squad, with Dane Schadendorf also included.
South Africa wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne returns to availability next week in the contest with Warwickshire at Trent Bridge, while Dane Paterson remains in South Africa at present following the recent birth of his second child.
Clarke - who shared a 136-run stand with skipper Haseeb Hameed in the second innings at Essex last week - said that conversations have remained brutally honest amongst the dressing room amid their quest to secure a place in the top flight for next year.
“The camp has been in a good mood,” Clarke said, “We had some honest conversations after the Essex loss, and we knew that we weren’t good enough across that game.
“Everyone knows the importance of this week now, and we know the task is simply to gain as many points as we possibly can. We were disappointed with last week, and we want to put things right this time around and get a good result we can be pleased with.”
Hameed's fifth ton of the year was the high point for Notts at Chelmsford, but Clarke knows that more consistency will be required to secure the spoils this week.
“We’ve shown bits of fight here and there in the last game,” he said, “Hass’ hundred and the season he’s had - all while leading from the front - has been brilliant.
“Farhan (Ahmed) and LPW (Liam Patterson-White) both bowled well in spells, and so did the seamers. What’s exciting for us is that we’ve added Jacob Duffy as well, which is a boost for us, and hopefully he can add something with the ball to help us get the result that we’re after.”
Having led with the bat in on numerous occasions this season, including an unbeaten 213 in a 392-run stand with Will Young that turned a County Championship contest with Somerset on its head, Clarke is motivated to make his mark on two critical games in the closing stages of the summer.
“My partnership with Will Young at Somerset got us out of a tricky situation down there and got us some vital points that could prove important at the end of the season," he recalled.
"But we can’t rely on those points to see us through, and we know we need to be at our best to get the points we need down in Canterbury.
“It’s been a steady year for me so far, but I want to finish strong.
“I’d lost a little bit of form over the last few weeks, so it was good to spend some time at the crease at Essex. Hopefully I can contribute to some positive results to finish the season off.”
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