HEAD coach Kevin Sharp wants Worcestershire to retain their Specsavers County Championship Division One status through the quality of their own performances rather than relying on other results.

The County return to four-day action on Wednesday after the joy of securing a first Vitality Blast finals day spot when they take on Lancashire at Southport (11am).

Worcestershire are back in the mix to stay up after an innings-and-186-run thumping of Yorkshire at Scarborough.

They moved off the bottom after Lancashire lost by six runs against leaders Surrey.

But Sharp knows that whether the County stay up will depend on how they perform in the final five games — away to Lancashire and Essex and at home to Hampshire, Surrey and Yorkshire.

He said: “As the Championship season has gone on we’ve got a bit stronger.

“We beat Lancashire, had a well-earned draw against Nottinghamshire and although Somerset were that bit better than us we weren’t outplayed and there were some resilient efforts.

“To then go up to Scarborough and blow them away like we did sets us in a really good place for what is coming this next five weeks.

“We were watching the Surrey-Lancashire game on the TV on the way down from Scarborough and it was probably quite a good result for us in relation to the table.

“No one was unhappy about that result. But at the end of the day you don’t want to rely on other results.

“The key is to do your own job and perform and if you get a bit of extra help from the other results that is very welcome.

“You look at that table now and any one of six could be relegated and for us, with five games to go and the group of lads we’ve got now, we can do well in this next few weeks.”

Sharp thrives on the sort of challenges that the game with Lancashire and remaining fixtures will provide.

He said: “This is why you play the game. I’ve been around a bit now and am probably enjoying myself now as much as I ever have done.

“It is always nicer when you win and do well but there is going to be some great, interesting days to come and it is going to be hard-fought.

“It wouldn’t surprise me, the way things are, if it went down to playing Yorkshire at home in the final game of the season to decide things.”

Sharp was delighted with the performances against his former county as Worcestershire enjoyed their biggest win against the Tykes.

He said: “I was looking forward to going back to Scarborough. I’ve spent many happy hours there in a Yorkshire shirt.

“I left the club six years ago under difficult circumstances and it was a real pleasure for me personally to go back now, in the position I’m in, with the side we have playing such good cricket.

“For us to perform the way we did was a pleasure to see.

“I know there were some outstanding individual performances but man for man as a group they all played their part in demolishing the opposition and I’m a very proud man.”

Moeen Ali starred in the win over Yorkshire with 219 runs and eight match wickets while Daryl Mitchell hit 178 and Dillon Pennington claimed six victims.