When we've been bad we've been very bad: Livingstone reflects on Lancashire's relegation

Failure to secure maximum batting points at Hampshire on Tuesday cost Lancashire their place in the County Championship top flight and they will drop down a level along with Worcestershire next campaign

^{Lancashire captain Liam Livingstone}

Liam Livingstone says Lancashire must learn from their relegation season if they are to bounce back in 2019, but the Red Rose captain refused to accept that his team were one of the worst two in Division One this term.

Failure to secure maximum batting points at Hampshire on Tuesday cost Lancashire their place in the County Championship top flight and they will drop down a level along with Worcestershire next campaign.

Livingstone, whose own season was interrupted by injury, was bitterly disappointed with the way the year has gone.

"At some point today we thought we might be in with a chance of pulling off a miracle but we knew it had to be a miracle coming into the game," he said at the end of day two at the Ageas Bowl.

"The way we’ve played the last two days, no one’s given up. Everyone’s still running in and the way that Bails has bowled there at the end of the day, I think it shows a lot about us as a team.

^{Lancashire have been relegated to Division Two}

"At times this season we’ve been very bad for hours here and there that have killed us so do I think we’ve been one of the two worst teams? No, I just think when we’ve been bad we’ve been very bad and it’s ultimately cost us.

"Next year we are going to have to learn from what we have done but the good thing is we are building a good squad with the young lads coming through."

Livingstone said that having a quarter of the league as relegation places was too much - that will change next year as three teams will be promoted to Division One and one relegated to Division Two, as the top table restructures to 10 sides.

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"I think if you look at the Premier League it is like five teams going down in football. If I’m honest I think for two out of eight to go down in the top division is tough," he said.

"But then again it creates pressure all the way through and there is no let off though the season.

"We will have a think about what we have done this season and hopefully we can improve on it going forward.

"I don’t think we are one of the two worst teams in the competition but we are second bottom for a reason."