AFTER seeing Rotherham's catastrophic attempt at Premiership survival, you can understand just how important preparation is.

Because of all the uncertainty surrounding last season's National One champions and the off-the-field shenanigans, they were never able to lift their heads above the parapet for a second before they were thrust into battle.

You have to suspect that Worcester's passage into the top flight will be a little smoother and that will give them a huge advantage as they begin to plan Premiership survival.

Thirteen points clear at the top of the league, a bonus point victory at Henley on Saturday will take Worcester 18 ahead and possibly only three weeks away from the title.

With rivals Orrell and Pertemps Bees not in league action this weekend, it gives Worcester a glorious chance to bring forward their date with destiny. If the Warriors continue to take maximum points from their next four games, promotion will be clinched on March 20 at the County Ground in Exeter.

Of course, the club want to enter the Premiership having won all 26 of their games but clinching the title so early will give Worcester so much more time to plan ahead.

Off the field, everything is in place with the Rugby Football Union satisfied with the paper audit. A physical audit at Sixways will be carried out on March 31 but, with chairman Cecil Duckworth insisting there would be no stone left unturned, there will be no issue over entry criteria. With the coaches John Brain and Andy Keast to be signed up to longer deals within the next week, everything is in place. It is now just a case of finishing the job off.

Since the victory at Edge Hall Road, however, supporters have been speculating over the playing staff. It is the topic of conversation on everybody's lips. Just who will be on board with Worcester when they reach the promised land?

Will Worcester's veteran props Tony Windo and Neil Lyman be offered new deals? Is the back row physical enough for the Premiership? And will Ben Hinshelwood go against the wishes of the Scottish Rugby Union and sign another contract with Worcester?

Professional rugby today is, of course, a cut-throat business. With a salary cap exercising the minds of the coaches, there can be little room for romanticism. You have to believe, though, that people such as Windo and Lyman -- who have contributed more than most to Worcester -- will be rewarded with deals. There has to be some place for players who have put their body on the line time after time for the Sixways cause.

The Hinshelwood situation is the most fascinating one at the club, however. The international looks set to come under increasing pressure from the SRU in the coming months with the union desperate for him to move north of the border.

It is an impossible situation for the Australian-born star. His dream, since the move from Bedford Blues in 2001, has been to play Premiership rugby but new coach Matt Williams' insistence that his players should ply their trade in Scotland makes his next contract decision a pivotal one to his career.

From Worcester's perspective it is they -- not the players -- who hold all the aces now. If Hinshelwood cannot commit, there will be agents banging down the Sixways doors to get their players in at one of the most attractive Premiership clubs going.

From always having to convince players that their futures lay at Worcester -- a potential Premiership outfit -- they can now pick and choose just who will and who won't be on board next season.

This position of strength, however, did not come overnight. The club today is unrecognisable from the one which Brain arrived at in 2001. The 'trophy' signings are nowhere to be seen, the player power within the dressing room is a thing of the past. It is an absolute transformation.

No longer do the players rule the roost at Sixways. Obviously they have contributed massively to this season and deserve the plaudits, but promotion will represent a momentous achievement for the management because of what went on before Brain and Keast's arrival.

It won't, however, stop there. Worcester will not enter the Premiership to paddle in the shallow end. It is simply only the beginning.