So here we go, seven months of hard work is all going to come down to the last two games of the season.

The possibilities of promotion in the Norwich Union seem as remote as Hull City winning the FA Cup although mathematically possible.

Our Championship games at Warwickshire and at home to Gloucestershire will see us either as heroes or villains. If we can achieve two favourable results we will at the least ensure ourselves a berth in Division One next season and if we play as well as we have for most of the season we should lift the Trophy itself.

We won't kid ourselves though that another season in the Second Division in both competitions would be a major disappointment for all those connected to the club.

Two divisions have definitely helped keep interest alive for most clubs. The intensity of every game, as it could be the match that nails your destiny, will, in time, raise standards. Players can no longer drift through any part of a county season because the consequences can be grave.

We as a team work as hard as any other in the country. Our coach and captain demand nothing less and are quick to jump on us if they feel we are slacking. Tiredness plays a part in all sportsmen it can cause a loss in concentration, drive and desire to practice and improve.

Recently we have endured a gruelling schedule. Five days at Derby for the Championship was followed by a car journey to Manchester. That Sunday night we practiced under lights until 10pm and played the floodlit match the next day.

Tuesday morning we spent four hours in the car and returned to Brighton where we had to get all our washing ready for the next day.

Wednesday saw Chris Adams lose the toss and we fielded first in the four-day game against Durham.

Sunday and Monday saw two back-to-back one-day games, the first against Durham and the second back up in Derby.

It has been 13 days on the bounce either practising, travelling or playing and the bodies (and probably as importantly, the minds) of the players are tired. No matter what you are feeling it cannot be used as an excuse for poor performances and this was hammered home to us on Monday.

We had just beaten Derbyshire and were getting packed for the journey back to Brighton when Peter Moores called us all together. It seemed it was the time for a few home truths and we were read the riot act. Our performances he said have been patchy of late and on a couple of times just unacceptable. We've had our warnings and now we must start to meet the consequences or our season will fall apart around us.

So he said it was time to up the anti starting then and there with a 40-minute fitness session. It was a surprised Derbyshire public and players who saw the Sussex team return to the field and embark on a gruelling practice session.

We got back that night at midnight, chastised and knowing now if we didn't know before that professional sport is a performance culture.

Home life, tensions, tiredness and injuries mean nothing; they are just facts of life that need to be dealt with. We get judged and paid for results. Teletext or the newspapers don't say M. Robinson 0-100 but he was tired. They just show the facts, pure and simple.

Our captain and coach have laid down the law. They are not prepared to let our season disintegrate like it did last season. We as players must now stand up and be counted, to ensure we give the club the public and ourselves the success we all deserve.

Mark Robinson