Colin O’Reilly believes it will take time before fans see the best of what his Cheshire Phoenix side has to offer.

The Nix began their BBL season with back-to-back defeats at the weekend, going down 88-85 at Worcester Wolves in overtime on Friday night before a 99-85 home defeat by Newcastle Eagles at the Cheshire Oaks Arena in Ellesmere Port on Sunday.

In terms of starts, the Nix couldn’t have been handed much tougher opponents to begin the campaign and there were plenty of reasons to be cheerful for head coach O’Reilly, with the performances of new signings Jamell Anderson and Earl Brown particularly impressive.

And with the Nix squad having only been together for a fortnight, O’Reilly believes it could be another four weeks until their hard work in practice comes to fruition on the hardwood.

“We are looking at the bigger picture and we have only been together 14 days and haven’t had as much time as we would have liked to work on things,” said Irishman O’Reilly, who replaced John Lavery as head coach in the summer.

“We had a tough start but we were obviously looking to win both games and there were some pleasing signs.

“We were up in the third against Worcester so to lose it in overtime is disappointing but we are a new group and we have plenty of things we have to work on.

Cheshire Phoenix head coach Colin O'Reilly speaks to his team at Worcester Wolves
Cheshire Phoenix head coach Colin O'Reilly speaks to his team at Worcester Wolves

“I think it might be three or four weeks until we really start to reach the levels we are aiming for and that is when I will be able to assess how good the group I have is.”

Anderson was the big capture for the Nix during the summer, with the British forward joining from Leicester Riders, while Brown arrived following a solid season in Scandavia.

Point guard Josh Wilcher is a seasoned campaigner having plied his trade with Plymouth Raiders and the additions of Josh Fox, Kaj-Bjorn Sherman, Marcel Mosley and Jamie Batish have added quality to the ranks.

O’Reilly is pleased with what he has seen from his charges so far and believes the talent is there to challenge the cream of British basketball this season.

“I’ve been impressed with the way they have applied themselves and the talent on show,” said O’Reilly.

“They are a committed group of guys who want to learn and are committed to each other.

“They are a group that asks questions and wants to be pushed and I think we have the tools to do well this season.”