LOOKING ahead to Saturday's big game with Leeds Tykes, my job this week has been to make sure the players do not get carried away with the hype surrounding the match.

Leeds, Worcester and Rotherham were the top sides in Premiership Two last season and I see no reason why Phil Davies' team will not be pushing us all the way this time around.

It is a big game for the supporters and the media but I want my players to approach it as any other -- in a totally professional manner.

Sometimes players can go out there, just follow things and don't make any impact if they let the pressure get to them. We've got players though who have performed on a much bigger dancefloor such as new skipper Alistair Murdoch and Earl Va'a, so I've no doubts about my players' temperament.

Worcester have not had the best of records against Leeds in recent times but I don't see the past as having any effect on the game at Sixways.

For a start, our side is packed full of new players and Leeds have made a number of good signings in the summer. It's important that we win the game because it gives us a great platform for the rest of the season but I can assure everyone, it's not going to be easy. Leeds are a very, very talented side. They are quite expansive and their skills are good.

Also, the core of the squad have played together for a number of years which is what they have over us. I have a great respect for Phil Davies, we played against each other in Australia - Wales matches. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he has made the club what they are today. There are not a lot of guys like Phil in the game.

He could easily take over a Premiership side tomorrow and do a great job. He has made Leeds a very pro-active side and if they are able to dominate the game, they will give us problems. However, I'm confident that if we keep things simple, keep the ball, make the tackles then we'll smother these guys.

Talk is always cheap so it is up to the players to go out there and win the game. One of the key areas, as always in rugby, will be our discipline. We have to make sure we do not give anything away be-cause I don't think Leeds will make too many mistakes.

We let ourselves down a little last Saturday at Orrell with our discipline when we let the crowd get on top of us and dis-tract our focus. Don't get me wrong, a 47-8 result on the opening day of a rugby season is a good win and there were a number of plus points to come out of the game. As it was the team's first competitive game together they did well but part of my job is to analyse the performance and see how we can improve for the next match.

We have been through the video and counted 30 turnovers during the match which I believe is unacceptable for us. We need to stamp our authority of the game and really show supporters what we are capable of.

Sixways is our fortress and Leeds visit here hoping to take the points and show us they are title favourites. However, I want to make sure that no-one comes here and teaches us a lesson in our back yard.

Worcester people want success. They have heard all the stories in the past about being title favourites and seen it all go up in smoke. I want to make Worcester somewhere where other teams dread coming and build up an aura about the place.

We can only do that through re-sults though and a win against Leeds will go a long way to showing supporters that we are going in the right direction.

One player who won't be involved on Saturday is new signing Mohamed Benbouhout who played well on his debut but needs a couple of weeks to get used to the language and his new surroundings.

I had to release him from the 22-man squad against Leeds. The rest said there were a few problems with basic codes during the Orrell match. He speaks French and some of the other guys do too but it's not an ideal situa-tion. However, I'm sure once he settles into his new club there won't be any problem long-term. Most of the guys struggle to under-stand my Aussie dialect anyway!

Finally, I'd like to thank the travelling support who came to see us at Orrell.