DIRECTOR of rugby Dean Ryan believes relegation to the Championship will drive Worcester Warriors on as they bid to become a force in the Aviva Premiership in the future.
Warriors, who have notched up just one win all season, needed a victory at Allianz Park on Saturday to stand a chance of keeping their survival hopes alive.
But leaders Saracens proved too strong for Worcester as they scored six tries, including a hat-trick from flanker Jackson Wray, to secure a convincing 44-20 victory.
Despite remaining at the foot of the table for almost the entire season, Ryan said relegation was a huge blow to his side whose three-year stay in the top flight will come to an end when they host Gloucester on Saturday.
But the Warriors boss insisted a campaign in the Championship will give Worcester the chance to create a ‘proper rugby club’ where it will rely on its academy to help move the club forward.
“There are big players in that changing room who are a hurting. It will test humility and everything else, but it has got to be a driver to ensure that we come back to this level,” he said.
“The Championship isn’t where we want to be, but we have got to work through that and create an environment that bring us back stronger and into a place where we can grow from there because this place has never been able to do that.”
Ryan said Sixways would no longer be a ‘stepping stone or a retirement home’ for players reaching the end of their careers as he looks to build for the future.
“This place has always been in a static position. There has been change, but then it’s been in a static position again,” he said.
“But we said right at the beginning of the year that this place has got to change the way it goes about things and we are doing that now.
“There was a gap in class today, but we can’t solve that until we grow our own players and bring them through.”
He added: “We have got to get players that show how much they care about Worcester and then people will come along and watch and we can’t solve that until we start bringing our own players through.
“A lot of people will be disappointed that we are dropping into the Championship, but they have to be aware of the changes this club needs to go through to ensure that we start being a competitive club.”