ESSEX captain Mark Pettini is adamant a run of good form is just around the corner.

The 23-year-old opener has struggled badly with his batting since taking over as skipper from the injured Ronnie Irani in June.

However, despite a run of just 113 runs in his last seven LV County Championship innings, Pettini believes his skill and preparation mean his luck will change for the better soon.

"I'm not happy about it," he admitted.

"I think if your confidence is shot, you are defeating yourself before you walk out to the middle.

"Anyone who has played cricket knows that you have to remain positive and back your own ability and I certainly do.

"I know what I'm capable of achieving on a cricket pitch and that's what I tell myself every time I go out to bat.

"I truly believe that, I still practice in the same way, I still approach each innings in the same way."

Pettini, whose poor form saw him overlooked when England named their squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup, has kept his head high through his struggles, and believes that strong self-belief will serve him well in the long-term.

"The fact that I haven't scored as many runs as I would have liked just means that I have to take it on the chin and get on with the next game and hopefully get runs to my name in the next game," said the mature youngster.

"I wouldn't be human if I said that taking on the captaincy had not made some difference to my life in the last month or two, of course it has.

"I'm not going to lie and say it's had absolutely no affect on me. Of course it has.

"I'm now responsible for the results of this team and that lies firmly on my shoulders, but that's one of the aspects of the job for me.

"I want to be a winner and take this side forward."

While Pettini's positivity is there for all to see, the facts state that his side has won just one of its last 14 competitive fixtures in all-competitions.

That run has left them in danger of missing out on promotion from Division Two of the championship and being relegated from Division One of the one-day league the county won in both 2005 and 2006.

With such stark statistics staring him in the face, the young skipper said the chips were down on the club's season.

"The honeymoon period is over, there's been lot's of talk about being in a transition period after losing (Darren) Gough, (Andy) Flower and Irani but we have to move on as of now," he added.

"But the longer we mention that and keep harping on about it, the longer it will be before come to terms with it.

"Let's be honest, even with those three, we didn't get to win promotion in the championship -although we came close last season - so we have a lot of hard work ahead.

"The fact that we've come near to getting back into Division One on a couple of occasions shows that we haven't been quite good enough.

"I want to get results now and for me it's not a case of having a good side by the end of this season or next year or in a couple of seasons time or whatever. It's now that I want results."

Amen to that Mr Pettini.