Phil Waghorn has revealed how a word of praise from a star player helped convince him he is getting things right as stand-in head coach.

But the Genesis Brighton Bears play-caller admits he has no idea how long he will be asked to carry on in charge.

Waghorn stepped in when head coach Nick Nurse was sidelined by throat surgery in late November.

Nurse was warned he faced a lengthy recovery time and Waghorn has now had nine games at the helm, six of them away.

He has enjoyed wins in all three home matches, picked up a welcome victory at Guildford Heat on Saturday but suffered on the long trips to Newcastle (twice), Scotland, Sheffield and Chester.

Waghorn, one of the best known men in Sussex basketball, admits it has been a challenge stepping up to the top job.

But a bit of preparation and courage of convictions helped him enjoy his finest hour in charge at Guildford when he employed a full court press in the final quarter and rallied his men from a 15-point deficit to a four-point win.

That was when Jerry Williams offered those words of encouragement.

Waghorn, who knew from a scouting trip that Heat would not enjoy playing against the press, said: "I don't know how long I will be in charge.

"I'll do whatever the club wants me to do and whenever Nick comes back I'll step down.

"But any coach will tell you they want to do it as long as they can.

"Although it may not seem like it sometimes, it's much more fun being out there having to make the decisions.

"When you get somebody like Jerry come up to you at the end of the game and say 'good call on the press', it's things like that which help you believe you are getting a positive attitude in the team."

Waghorn admits the switch from assistant coach to head man has been a tough one.

He said: "The nature of players and assistant coaches is that players try to walk all over them and do whatever.

"It was interesting that, when we came back to training last week, it was the best atmosphere we have had.

"I've been trying to carry on where we were with Nick. I'm not talking major changes.

"But two different coaches will always do things slightly differently.

"We have to believe in what we are doing and I will tell them when to press.

I don't need people telling me when to do it."

Nurse's enforced absence has also slowed the process of bringing in new players.

Their eight-man squad is not good enough to beat the best in the league but does a good job against the lower teams.

Bears have won-lost records of 1-8 against the current top five but 6-2 against the rest of the league and still have 14 of their 20 home games to play.

They remain at the mercy of injuries and illness and whether they have funds to strengthen remains to be seen.

Their weekend road trip to Guildford and Chester was a low-budget affair.

Rather than stay in a hotel after the Guildford game, as might have been the case in previous years, they returned home on Saturday evening, then set out for Chester at 10am on Sunday.

Waghorn said: "I'm not in a position to sign players. I don't know what we have to offer."

Saturday's game against London Towers at the Triangle starts at 8pm.