Steve Rhodes says Worcestershire need to take early wickets tomorrow morning and then strive to match Sussex's first innings total in the Specsavers County Championship clash at Hove.
Director Of Cricket Rhodes admitted the County were probably due a day when they did not fire on all cylinders after chalking up four successive wins in the competition.
Sussex closed day one on 339-3 from 96 overs with Luke Wells 139 not out and Rhodes conceding it may have been the wrong decision to bowl first.
Rhodes told BBC Hereford-Worcester's Dave Bradley: "What we've got to do is somehow take some wickets tomorrow morning and get ourselves back into this contest.
"Then we've got to bat in a really positive vein – looking to not just sit in there and be bowled out.
"We've got to a decent six man seam attack coming against us here so we need to make sure in this first innings that we equal them in our batting abilities and make sure we get a big score.
"It does look a good wicket although there is a little bit of up and down bounce. There are some cracks out there but generally it is a decent pitch."
On the events of the first day, Rhodes said: "As Joe (Leach) just said to me, we were probably due one like that.
"We've had some fantastic days in the Championship cricket and that wasn't one of our best ones but I couldn't fault the guys for their effort.
"We possibly got the toss wrong and should have gone to a toss and batted but, having said that, it did dart around early on and credit to the Sussex batsmen for getting through that new ball.
"We possibly could have bowled a little bit better with that new ball but we musn't take anything away from the opposition. I thought they batted really well.
"We've not dropped a chance. We might have missed a run out but it was a direct hit run out so those things happen. It's just been quite a tough day but all credit to the opposition.
"Luke Wells is a gritty player. He goes in an out of form like everybody but onnce he gets to a hundred and is in nick, he tends to want to keep going and he can get some big scores.
"That first hour, we just needed a little bit to go our way.
"Maybe in the past four games things might have gone our way a little bit more than normal so the rub of the green, it tends to even itself out throughout the season."
