LANCASHIRE captain Liam Livingstone believes Lancashire have paid for some ‘very bad’ moments after suffering relegation from the Specsavers County Championship Division One.

The Red Rose were relegated on Tuesday after they failed to secure a third batting bonus point against Hampshire.

Lancashire needed to reach a minimum of 300 and beat Hampshire, while elsewhere requiring Nottinghamshire to fall short 200 – which they did - and then lose to Somerset.

But after Fidel Edwards blasted through the tail with the second new ball they fell 27 runs short of the important 300 and their demotion to the second tier was confirmed.

Lancashire remain in with a strong chance of beating Hampshire but it will make no difference to the final standings.

And Livingstone said: “At times this season we’ve been very bad for hours here and there that has killed us.

“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.

“If I’m honest I think for two out of eight to go down in the top division is tough.

“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.

“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.”

Lancashire are on course to beat Hampshire having restricted the hosts to 178-8 in their second innings, a lead of 92 runs.

And Livingstone was pleased with the character his side given the unlikely nature of the great escape.

“At some point (on Tuesday) 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 added.

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

Rob Jones had brilliantly batted Lancashire in the right direction to stay up with a morning half century.

Jones, who had come into the game with an average of less than 10 in seven Championship innings this season, added 84 with Dane Villas for the sixth wicket, after Livingstone had been yorked by Edwards.

But despite his 50 Jones departed two overs after lunch when Ian Holland had him lbw.

That left Lancashire needing 59 from the last three wickets, and Joshua Bohannon and Bailey kept the score ticking to the second new ball.

But on 273, Kyle Abbott and Edwards reconvened and took three wickets between them to send the visitors down.

Abbott needed just three deliveries to find the outside of Bohannon’s edge while former West Indian Test fast bowler Edwards completed the innings, to seal Lancashire’s fate, by bowling Bailey with a fierce full ball before Saqib Mahmood was leg before two balls later.

Lancashire then bowled well with Bohannon and Gleeson taking three wickets and Bailey two to leave the visitors in with a strong chance of registering just a third league win of the season.

But they will be in Division Two for the first time since 2015 next year. On that occasion they only spent one year there before they were immediately promoted back to Division One.

They join Worcestershire, who were relegated last week against Essex, in dropping down this season.