Dean Ryan admits he is expecting a weekend of drama when his Warriors side travel to Kingston Park to face Newcastle Falcons on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
Warriors sit 12 points behind their relegation rivals in the Aviva Premiership and Sunday’s game is a must-win if they are to stand any realistic chance of staying in the league next season.
Ryan said: “Whatever happens there is going to be a lot of drama and it will be about coping with it and seeing how people react.
“This is the must-win game because if we don’t get the four points then the distance is too big. It will be a close game and it will be tense but if we can get a result then we won’t give up hope.
“There are a lot of things we are working towards at this club but these next few weeks are purely focused on whether we can play in the Premiership next year.”
Newcastle picked up two bonus points at Gloucester last weekend after an inspired performance in the final quarter where they came back from 37-7 to 40-33.
And Ryan admits he is unsure whether Newcastle will take that late tempo into the beginning or the end of the match with Warriors.
Ryan explained: “I’d have liked to have seen them come away having lost 37-7 and being a bit down, but they got some confidence in the last quarter of that match.
“The question is whether they apply that at the beginning or end of the game this weekend.
“It could be more of a chess game to start with, to see where the ascendancy moves, and then the pressure firmly shifts onto that team.”
Despite Warriors testing some of the league’s top sides in recent weeks, Ryan knows this weekend’s match will be just as difficult.
He continued: “They have some fine players like Mike Blair who has a lot of experience. They’ve got a good driving lineout too so it is going to be fine margin stuff.
“It’s another game where we can’t afford to sit back and we have to express ourselves.It’s a huge game but we are still in with a shout.
“We still believe we can get a result up there. If we get that then there is something to fight for in the remaining games and we will do our utmost to give it a good go.”