WHEN I look back over the past 12 months, it has been a huge year of change for Worcester Wolves on and off the court.

Along with the team doing so well and the community of Worcester coming out to support us in the new arena, I think we have taken basketball in this area to a whole new level.

The entire game-day experience has totally changed, it’s a fantastic family atmosphere and we are getting over 1,000 people coming to every home game which is brilliant. I am really excited about the future moving forward because of that.

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect start to life in our new home and we are still getting used to it. One thing is for sure, it’s been immense moving to the University Arena.

It was crucial that we recruited well during the summer, especially moving into the new arena, and we wanted to have a really competitive team.

Towards the end of last season we were disappointed because we felt we had a really good, balanced team and it didn’t come together the way it should have done.

We showed glimpses of brilliance and I felt we had all the pieces there but, with Sherrad Prezzie-Blue being hurt and coming in late, we were always chasing the league.

I looked carefully at the players we were trying to bring in and one of the main things I looked for was mental toughness.

Last year we had a lot of talent but maybe the mental toughness wasn’t there whereas this year I think we have got that and talented players.

I think we did an exceptional job doing that and the results have spoken for themselves, being in the mix for the British Basketball League title, and hopefully we can continue that into the new year.

When we recruited the players I thought we were going to be a pretty decent team but to have done what we have done — after playing Newcastle Eagles and Leicester Riders twice and being 3-1 against them — is quite incredible.

We have that backbone of Zaire Taylor, Alex Owumi and Will Creekmore, which is probably the best in the country, but around them you’ve got to have a support cast who are able to chip in and I think that’s the beauty of this team.

It has been a team performance with the likes of Jamal Williams, Stefan Djukic, Andreas Schreiber, Kalil Irving and Daniel Belgrave. Everybody has contributed and done a great job for the team. It’s been fantastic to work with them.