Worthing Thunder want coach Dave Titmuss to stay with them for the long-term.

But they will not be making anything official until the end of the season.

The former England playcaller, whose one-year contract expires in July, has guided Thunder into a play-off berth in the BBL.

If they stay there they will have hit their main target for the season.

But Thunder chairman Frank Gainsbury insist Titmuss’s continued involvement does not hinge on a top-eight finish.

Gainsbury has been delighted by what he sees as a professional approach on and off the court and the standard of player recruitment, which has taken in mainland Europe as well as the USA.

He said: “We will get this season out of the way but we have both made it clear we view this as a long-term thing.

“That doesn’t stop Dave not wanting to work for us but I believe that is not the case.”

Thunder are one of six teams separated by just one win in the middle section of the BBL having won their last four at home.

Gainsbury added: “It would be disappointing now not to make the play-offs.

“Within our business plan the first year was based on surviving and establishing ourselves in the BBL.

“The second year was to hit the play-offs and I think we are on target for that.

“It seems more competitive this year. The top three are fighting it out between them but there is a lot going on below that.

“We’ve got tough games coming up. Let’s not under-estimate Plymouth this Saturday and we know Newcastle (on January 16) is always a problem game.”

Gainsbury hopes Titmuss stays even if Thunder do not make the top eight, saying: “The development going on behind the scenes is just what we are looking for.”

The Thunder coach can be a spiky character on the sidelines but his expertise and experience are not in question.

He has asked his team to work with new set-ups both with and without the ball and, back in September, handed each player a season-long itinerary of training sessions and workouts.

The programme in the run-up to a key clash at home to Plymouth on Saturday (7pm) is typical of what Thunder’s mix of professionals and part-timers are put through each week.

There are three evening practices for the full team, two-hour skills sessions for the pros on Wednesday and Thursday mornings plus weights and conditioning on Wednesday and Thursday.

Thunder are still missing last season’s top scorer Janis Ivanovskis, who has a scan on his troublesome back this week, and were without high-scoring duo Reggie Bratton and Sherrad Prezzie-Blue for several early-season games.

Gainsbury admits: “It’s a shame we didn’t have Sherrad and Reggie for a few weeks. I could see us with another three wins if they had not been injured.”

Bratton is in the running to be top scorer in the league, averaging 27.3 points per game, while Kadiri Richard is fulfilling his pre-season pledge to be the BBL’s best shot blocker with 2.2 per contest.

The statistic continuing to concern Gainsbury, though, is that of attendances.

Last Saturday’s win over Chester pulled in 450 paying spectators and Thunder could do with a few more as improving Plymouth head to Sussex.

Gainsbury said: “That’s less than we need but what we didn’t see in our business plan was a recession that affected sponsorship, marketing, advertising, season tickets and people coming out to watch basketball.

“I still think we are going in the right direction.”