Dean Ryan admits missed opportunities cost Warriors victory in their first Greene King Championship game of the season.
Warriors went down 23-19 to Bristol Rugby at Ashton Gate despite dominating large spells of the game and were forced to settle for a losing bonus point.
And, according to Ryan, his side will need to be more clinical if they are to experience success this season.
Ryan said: “To lose in the last-minute is pretty hard and on reflection we probably missed two or three opportunities in the first-half to really put the game away.
“We missed a try in the first-half quite easily. Those moments appear in a game and you even take them or you don’t.
“I thought we got ourselves back in with Ignacio but obviously if you’ve miss those moments earlier you’re exposed to what’s happened to us in the final moments. But it was a pretty full-on contest.
“I’m disappointed with a loss but I’m really pleased with where we are. I thought we dominated quite large periods of the game but we’re not clinical enough to be able to impose that.”
And with both sides hotly tipped to do well this season, Ryan insists the Championship is far from a two-horse race.
He added: “Neither side is coming into the Championship with a guarantee about being in the play-offs. There is pressure on us to be there.
“We know that, Robbo knows that. We’ve got big budgets for this Championship and big sides.
“But we’re not going to enter this Championship thinking we’re going to be rolling through to the end.
“We’re going to enjoy it and we’re going to work really hard to get better at it. If we get through it then we’ll see who gets out of it at the end.
“It was a great advert. If that sets-up what this Championship is going to be about, we can’t wait to get in it.”