Eye on the County Championship: We'll miss Peter Moores but Glen Chapple can keep Lancashire moving forward

It will feel strange to be getting ready to play at Northampton today without Peter Moores around, and yet as soon as we heard, at the end of January, that Andy Flower had resigned as England coach, we realised that Mooresy was always going to be in contention. So when he got the job it wasn't really a surprise.

Throughout all the speculation, though, it was something he would never speak about with us. His focus would always be on Lancashire, on the pre-season and preparing us for the opening game against Notts. He didn't talk with us about leaving until it was confirmed.

You could tell on Wednesday, the last day of his last game with us, that he was a bit sad to be going. We sat down as a team in the changing room with him after we had drawn the game with Warwickshire and just chatted for ages about the good times we'd had, the games we'd played and the successes we'd enjoyed, and what he hoped we would achieve in the future.

In his coaching it was his passion for cricket that came across. But he was always prepared to listen to your ideas before giving his input. He inspired you as a player and found a way to make you better. He was able to get the best out of everyone, whether it was by helping with a technical aspect, a mental aspect or something else. And he was as good with the senior, experienced players as with the younger ones.

After we'd got changed on Wednesday we all went into Manchester for a meal together, to say our goodbyes, to give him a proper send-off. It was a nice evening.

I think giving Glen Chapple the job for the rest of the season is a great appointment. Mooresy put a system in place that works well, and I don't think things will change that much for us.

We'll have continuity because Chappie and Gary Yates, our second-team coach who'll be working with him, know what they need to do to keep us moving forward. Chappie has the mentality to be a coach. He has been a great mentor. I've worked with him a lot, particularly on the bowling side.

Like Mooresy, he will always listen to your ideas rather then just tell you his. I can't see him stopping playing just yet, though. He is 40 but still seriously fit, and bowling as well as ever.

The season has started okay for me. I've scored some runs – at least in the first game – and taken some wickets. We lost to Notts but we had good positions in both games, and played positive cricket. We beat Northants twice in Division Two last season. They've got some good players but we'll go there full of confidence to start the new era.

Tom Smith plays for Lancashire