RICHARD Hill wants to see more from his out-of-contract first team regulars before splashing the cash on new deals.

While some players will inevitably opt to leave Sixways - including the likes of Miles Benjamin, who is now being reported as having signed for Leicester Tigers - head coach Hill wants to see how his squad performs over the rest of the season before finalising contracts.

This ploy could be seen as a gamble by the former England scrum-half, but he wants to see improvements from a squad that has always finished in the lower reaches of the Premiership table.

Hill admitted he is close to signing ‘a couple of players’ but is waiting on their current clubs for the timing of the announcements, while adding he expects to tie two of his current players to new contracts this week.

However, he is in no rush to secure the services of all of his first team players just yet.

He explained: “We have a lot of players out of contract, so we have some big decisions to make. It’s up to the players to really push hard for places in the latter half of the season, so there’s still a lot to play for.

“I still want to see what they can do at Premiership level. We’ve done OK, but I want to see a little bit more from certain players before I make a decision to keep them.

“Hopefully, if they perform well, they’ll be here, but a lot of this squad has been in the Premiership for six years and we were in the bottom four.”

One player who is unlikely to be given a new deal is centre Alex Crockett, who has been ruled out for the majority of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee in the LV= Cup defeat at Bath on October 22.

Hill added: “With Alex, it is a tough one. He won’t play again this season, so he hasn’t really got the chance to fight for another contract, so that is going to be a difficult decision for me to retain him.

Elsewhere, Miles Benjamin has been named on the bench for England Saxons’ clash with Scotland ‘A’ at Galashiels on Friday night (7.30pm).

However, fellow Warrior Matt Mullan, who caught the eye in the Saxons’s 23-17 win against Ireland Wolfhounds on Friday, is not included, but will travel to Scotland as a non-playing reserve.

Another Warriors player, centre Alex Grove, will be looking to help Scotland ‘A’ claim only their third ever win over England.