WORCESTER Warriors cannot afford to stand still when the new Aviva Premiership season kicks off, admits head coach Carl Hogg.

Newly-promoted Bristol are expected to add depth to the top tier and the leading clubs have strengthened their squads.

Warriors finished 10th in the Premiership last term as London Irish suffered the trauma of relegation to the Championship.

“The Premiership moves on every year and always has done,” said Hogg.

“In the last five or six years you just need to look at the quality of overseas players who have come into the league and also the quality of some of the academy players who have come through.

“When talking about Saracens, you just have to look at George Kruis and Maro Itoje who are wonderful players at Test level for England.”

Warriors open their Premiership campaign against champions Saracens at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, September 3 (2pm).

Carl Hogg’s Warriors could not have asked for a tougher start to the new season against the star-studded London club who also lifted the European Champions Cup last season.

Warriors’ first competitive game on their new artificial surface is a derby against Gloucester at Sixways on Friday, September 9 (7.45pm).

“The league is always evolving and we have to get up to speed with that,” said Hogg.

“We are working really hard behind the scenes to keep growing and developing our players. We need to do that at pace because no-one stands still in this competition.”

He added: “Saracens are a very clinical side hence why they have been so successful.

“They are very pragmatic in some aspects of their play but they can also cut you apart.

“We want to challenge ourselves against the best in the league and open up in the first Saturday with that challenge.

“Saracens have had a lot of players on international duty over the summer and that is something which hasn’t really hit us.

“We have had a group who have been in, worked extremely hard and come back in good nick.”