CAPTAIN Jonathan Thomas is confident Worcester Warriors are heading in the right direction despite being relegated from the Aviva Premiership.
The 31-year-old said he and his team-mates were “absolutely gutted” after Saracens condemned Warriors to a season in the Championship with a 44-20 victory at Allianz Park on Saturday.
But Thomas, who arrived at the club last summer, said relegation will bring the club even closer together as they bid to bounce back to the top flight in 2015.
“There is naturally going to be doom and gloom around being relegated,” he said. “But I am really positive and confident that the future of the club is in really good hands.
“I also think next year will give the club a chance to evolve its culture and work ethic and I am sure in 12 months’ time Worcester will be bouncing straight back up with a completely new culture and a new work ethic which can surprise a lot people.
“Dean (Ryan) has outlined where he wants to take the club and I am confident that club will go in the right direction.”
The former Wales international admitted Warriors’ poor start to the campaign was the reason behind their failure to beat the drop as he described some of his side’s early performances as “awful”.
“We can take some solace from the way we have played in the last three months,” he said. “The form we have shown since the end of January suggests we are not the worst team in the league.
“But unfortunately the season lasts over the course of September to May and unfortunately in that first six months we weren’t good enough and that’s the reason why we are where we are.”
But Thomas added: “This is obviously a massive low for us, but we will be back on the horse come next season and we will be really determined.
“In the future I am sure we will always reference this moment as we know how tough it has been and we just need to make certain nothing like this happens again.”