Peter Moores praised the efforts of Robin Martin-Jenkins as Sussex strove for their fifth straight win in the Championship and the chance to go top of Division One for the first time.
The Sussex director of cricket said: "I thought Martin-Jenkins played a terrific innings and was extremely positive.
"I said to him before he went out he should give himself ten overs to get in and then look to be very positive. As it happened Robin didn't need those ten overs as he got a couple of loose deliveries from Charlie Shreck which set him on his way and he didn't hang about after that.
"That allowed us to have 40 minutes to bowl at Notts before lunch rather than just ten or 15 minutes and we were able to grab the first two wickets."
After the first day's play was washed out Sussex are well aware of the need for quick runs and wickets.
Moores said: "With a day's play lost we've put all our eggs in one basket. We've got a good lead and we're trying to bowl Notts out twice for the win. To have them six down at tea was great so it was frustrating to only take one wicket in the final session.
"For us to win in three days we need to win all nine sessions of the match and I think we've certainly been in charge of the first five."
A win for Sussex would put them ahead of Surrey for the first time this season just as the reigning champions visit Hove on Wednesday in a game Moores sees as important but not necessarily crucial.
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