Nurse fires a broadside at the Bullets

Basketball

Nick Nurse, the Birmingham Bullets coach, admits his side needs to show a vast improvement in performance and attitude if they are to win a place at Wembley for the Budweiser League's last-four showdown.

Nurse was angered by his team's display in the first of their best-of- three series against Chester Jets in the quarter-finals of the championship play-offs. Jets won that game 86-78 and Bullets must now win at the National Indoor Arena tonight to take the tie into a deciding match there on Friday.

"Right from the start Chester dominated all the hustle areas and it's too bad that a team that's defending a championship can't come out and play better than that, " Nurse said.

"Either it was just an off night, or else we've decided to cash it in for this year. The players just seem to be looking for an excuse to lose: the referees, me, each other, they find something to blame it on. But we still have a chance to redeem ourselves."

Chester coach Mike Burton is certainly not thinking of Wembley just yet and knows Nurse is a shrewd operator when it comes to firing up his men. "Nick's using his craft as a coach that's all," Burton said.