RETURNING captain Gerrit-Jan van Velze insists the mood remains good in Worcester Warriors’ dressing room despite a run of 10 successive defeats.

Van Velze said he was not aware Warriors had racked up 10 losses at first-team level and can’t understand concerns from some supporters on social media.

He said: “I am quite surprised about these questions about the mood in the camp because I can’t see why there’s any reason why the mood should be down.

“It’s a long campaign and it’s not even the end of January yet. I wasn’t even aware it had been 10 defeats.

“It’s a process and we knew from day one it wasn’t going to be easy and there wasn’t going to be a magic wand you could wave and everything would be ironed out.

“It’s not nice losing but you learn more from a loss than from any win.”

Some Warriors fans are fearful the season could disintegrate after expectation levels were raised by wins over Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons.

But van Velze, 27, said: “I can’t understand where it comes from. If we had been battered by 40 points every weekend, then I could but we’ve lost with losing bonus points.

“We lost at Gloucester when a decision didn’t go our way and we lost to Wasps, while we were leading against Leicester so I don’t know where it comes from.”

The influential skipper has missed Warriors’ last four Premiership games after undergoing a knee operation at the end of November.

He said: “I had an operation on my knee but it was nothing too serious. I am back to full fitness now. I need to get fit in terms of running on the pitch but the knee is feeling really good.

“I got 55 minutes under my belt at La Rochelle and I am looking forward to the next challenge.”

The South African added: “It’s a massive challenge, especially for the fact we’ve now got 10 (Premiership) games back-to-back but we’ll take it one step at a time.

“It’s a first for everybody in the Premiership, so we have to recognise it’s going to be different and tough but we’re excited about the games we’ve got.

“I am excited about playing Exeter at home on Sunday because they are an in-form side and enjoying a lot of success.”