Guinness Premiership

Newcastle Falcons boss Steve Bates is hoping his team can reclaim some form as they prepare for what is their toughest week of the season.

The Falcons have an unenviable task ahead of the as they travel to Saracens and Harlequins, and now have a home game with Gloucester in between the away trips, with all three matches in just a seven day period.

Gloucester were due to play Newcastle this weekend, but by reaching the final of the LV= Cup the Cherry and Whites match at Kingston Park has now been rearranged for the second time.

While the team is refreshed from a week off, they will need to undertake some careful preparations to keep the squad fresh for the three matches with such a short amount of recovery time between each of them.

The Falcons are also desperately seeking a return to form having gone winless in their last six matches with a 17-13 loss to Bath in their last outing.

"The players are still disappointed by the Bath defeat, and those frustrations won't leave them for some time," Bates told The Journal.

"But they have also set that aside from the very forefront of their minds and have come back to work and got stuck right back into things. The morale is good among the players, that has never wavered because the lads all get on well, but they know they need to improve now to secure the results we are after.

"This set of three games in one week is a tall order for any side, but we are confident we can come out of them in an improved position, and despite losing last time out, some of the aspects of our play were decent.

"We're not hiding from the fact we have to kick on and get some wins though, because while we are in this position we are susceptible to the relegation picture.

"We believe we are better than that, and we believe we are worth more than that, but now it is up to us to prove it.

"There is no doubt that all of these teams we are taking on in this busy week are all quality outfits, and so we have a lot of work to do to prepare for each game in turn.

"But that said, we now don't have a game this weekend and that gives us more preparation time, so we have to pack it all together.

"The two trips to London will be very demanding and simply playing three games in one week is a lot to ask of any squad.

"So we're going to have to be very careful with how we approach each one in a bid to keep all the players as fresh as possible.

"To that end it’s good timing they have just had a week to recharge the batteries, but more importantly than that, rest weary bodies and all the niggles that build up."