It is final four time and I am anticipating a great, and busy, Bank Holiday weekend on and off the court.

I also believe this will be a big weekend both for our own club and the game in this country in general.

The play-off format has been changed again this year to have the two semi-finals on the Saturday and the final a day later and I am all in favour.

It will be great weekend of basketball for the fans to enjoy, it makes it easier for them rather than travelling to central venues on three consecutive weekends and it is good for television coverage. We have got Sky covering us live this weekend and that is invaluable to our sport.

People have complained about having back-to-back games but it's no big deal. We have been doing it all season.

Whatever happens at the NIA, I expect there to be a lot of action at the Bears on Monday. Most of the guys are clearing out in the middle of next week and I will try and sit down with all of them to discuss their future plans.

I am keen to build a team to take us through the next couple of years and I know where I want to go. Whether we flop on Saturday or win the play-offs on Sunday will not have any bearing on those plans.

I would expect it to be the latter although Newcastle on Saturday will be one hell of a game. They are playing very well and they are expecting to beat us. I will repeat what I have been saying for the past ten days. We are fit, rested and ready to go.

We have been damn hard to beat this year and I do not see that changing now. Our preparation has been thorough. In fact, I was watching the tape of us playing at Newcastle before I started this column.

Rest assured, my motivation is very, very strong. If I could plan the weekend just the way I wanted it I would have us beat Newcastle, Sheffield beat Soctiish Rocks and then us beat Sheffield in the final.

Our guys are excited about the weekend. People don't understand how hard it is to play when you are hurt and several of our players have had to do that this season.

We have also been told most basketball followers are hoping we don't win it. Maybe that is because we have been successful already. We must be doing something right if the neutrals are against us. All I hope is we keep our wits about us and don't get too excited out on court.

There is an owners' meeting in Birmingham over the weekend which should be interesting, though it is getting a bit late to make sweeping changes in time for next season.

You will have heard talk about a possible new league taking over from the BBL. There is some truth in that talk. I have been privy to the plans being drawn up and they have some merit though a deal has barely been discussed as yet.

The talk is to establish clubs in big places with great venues, such as Cardiff, Belfast and a return to Manchester. They would be run along similar lines to here in Brighton. At the moment, there are places you would take potential investors and they would not be at all impressed.

What we need are places that look impressive, are financially viable and make the product look good. We are thinking about the bottom line right now and the bottom line is not in very good shape.

That's the future. The present is Newcastle at the NIA. Roar us on and we will strive to give you a fitting finale to the season.