DIRECTOR of rugby Dean Ryan has said securing an immediate return to the Aviva Premiership will be Worcester Warriors’ main aim this season.
But he insisted they will not allow their hunt for the Greene King IPA Championship title cloud their focus on giving the club’s youngsters the chance to flourish.
Warriors will be favourites to clinch promotion when their campaign gets underway against Bristol on Sunday and Ryan believes his squad will be able to cope with the pressure.
However, he said it was still essential to give his less experienced players first team opportunities as he looks to create an “exciting environment” at the club.
“We know we have to get to the play-offs and be successful in those,” Ryan said.
“We are aware of that and the players are excited to take that challenge on.
“But we have got a lot of growing to do. We won’t have a side of established players, so some of those guys will have a lot of learning to do and we have got to that within the competition we are facing.”
A total of 17 players arrived in the summer, with a similar amount going the other way and the Warriors boss said he has now got a squad capable of taking the club forward.
“The people that we identified who were going to stay here will see this as a clean slate to get other guys in who share the same objective and can start working to getting back,” he said.
“The reason I came here was because I was excited about what this place could look like in four of five years and I also knew the first year was going to be very challenging.
“Yes, there were some dark days last season, but I was clear about where we were heading and eventually players came out the other end who wanted to drive this club forward and we have been able to add a significant number more that want the same thing.
“This is Worcester’s squad now and this is the next step to getting us moving and growing as a club. There will always be changes along the way, but the important thing is that we keep growing and keep trying to get Worcester back to being successful.”