You might not have realised it but Brighton Bears were second bottom of the league last season.

In fact, in one respect we were rock bottom, and I expect that to change this time round.

Of course I am not talking about results. I am talking about budget. I have taken my first steps towards changing that and I can give you the first indications as to who I expect to re-sign for next season.

I have been in meetings throughout the close season. One thing we really need is a main sponsor. I am in deep discussions with a couple of people, and one of those in particular looks fairly promising.

Nothing is signed yet but we are deep in the fourth quarter and we've got the ball. Let's hope it's not a repeat of that Newcastle game last season.

Securing a main sponsor will of course give us more money to spend on players. We were 11th out of 12 without any doubt last season in terms of budget. If you include coaching staff in that I would say we were 12th out of 12. We have got a long way to go to catch the others up. One things is certain, the salary cap will not affect us. I think that is an outdated idea anyway.

So who do I expect to bring back? I would say we have virtually no chance of getting Rodger Farrington back and I think Mike Brown will test the waters in Europe. We have 75 per cent chance of getting Sterling Davis back, the same for Wil Johnson and 50 per cent with Albert White. I would take all of those players if I could get them.

It will be difficult to get a team as good as last year's but I back my own ability to recruit players and I know there is room for improvement on the side we had. I honestly think we could be better at the two and the five positions. We could not be much better at one, three or four and it is almost impossible to be better at six. Having Farrington coming off the bench was pretty good.

Remember we have Randy Duck under contract for the next two years and I am convinced we have plenty to offer players here in terms of our organisation, our fans and our arena. It does not always come down to dollars.

I keep a close eye on what is happening across the Atlantic. We remain in contact with Jerome Robinson, the Canadian guard I almost signed last season. I am not a fan of taking kids straight from university. I like players who have been out in the professional leagues and I already have ideas about who I might like for next year.

That's not to say there are not players already in the BBL who I would like to see in a Bears uniform. I like Jason Siemon, who has resigned for Milton Keynes. He is big and strong and I was looking to sign him. I like Rashod Johnson at Birmingham and poeple like Michael Martin, Ronnie Baker and Emiko Etete are guys I would love to have here.

There is only so much you can say about these things at this time of year but hopefully you now have some idea as to where we stand.

As for Europe, things are happening so don't write us off yet for next season. Whatever happens in the next few weeks, the continental scene remains where we want to be eventually and I have no doubts it can be done.

Finally, I have to say it was no surprise to me that the USA beat Portugal 3-2 on Wednesday. I love the wild results in this World Cup because if we get through anything can happen. We could even be looking at a local derby with Mexico. That's a bit like us and Towers going to Coventry to play a quarter-final, but don't get me on that subject again.