EXPERIENCED campaigner Phil Dowson has blamed “behind the scenes” woes for Worcester Warriors’ perilous position in the Aviva Premiership.

The 35-year-old admits “a lot of things flying around behind the scenes” have hampered Warriors’ campaign.

“Things weren’t right”, according to Dowson, when Warriors crashed to dismal defeats against Bristol on Boxing Day and Gloucester last month.

And the former Northampton Saints back row “firmly” believes Warriors “would be in a different situation” had Dean Ryan not quit Sixways in the summer.

Dowson has hailed the impact of new director of rugby Gary Gold and says a permanent appointment in the summer will be a “vital cog” in Warriors’ future.

“Dean (Ryan) came in with a big plan and if Dean had stayed, we’d still be on that plan,” said Dowson, who was brought to Sixways ahead of the 2015/16 season by the former Gloucester chief.

“I firmly believe we would be in a different situation to where we are now (had Ryan stayed).

“Lots of things have happened at the club which have thrown us off course. There are a lot of things I could potentially say but I am not going to go into detail about it.”

Head coach Carl Hogg and high performance director Nick Johnston were given dual leadership roles after Ryan’s shock departure in the summer.

But the partnership was broken up, with Hogg taking sole charge of rugby affairs at the end of November with Johnston returning to his original role.

On the eve of Warriors’ big clash at Bristol on Boxing Day, high-profile signing Ben Te’o questioned the quality of the squad and the direction of the club in a national report.

Former Warriors forwards coach Phil Davies was brought in as a “short-term consultant” to help Hogg. However, Warriors’ results did not improve.

Head of strength of conditioning Chris Hart was put on gardening leave with Paddy Anson, formerly of Exeter Chiefs, replacing him.

At Hogg’s request, an experienced coach in Gold was unveiled as Warriors’ director of rugby earlier this month with ex-Saracens chief executive Edward Griffiths joining as a consultant.

Dowson said: “I think Carl (Hogg) is a great coach and in the future would have an opportunity as a director of rugby and would probably jump at the chance.

“For whatever reason, and there will be loads of reasons and they are probably for another time, it didn’t work out.

“We had a lot of things flying around behind the scenes which took away from the squad on the pitch.

“You could see that from the results and performances in the Gloucester and Bristol games and things weren’t right.

“It’s nothing to do the quality of players and it’s nothing to do with not trying hard.

“Don’t ever mistake those results for guys who were not busting their guts to get victories.

“That’s not the issue here. There’s clarity now and direction, simplified and aggressive and I think that’s the way the game has to be played.”

Dowson has made 35 appearances for Warriors and skippered the side on occasions in his two seasons at the club.

He is third in the all-time list of Premiership appearances with 259, behind George Chuter (262) and Steve Borthwick (265).

However, Dowson is hanging up his boots at the end of this season to take up an assistant coach’s role at his former club Northampton Saints, where he racked-up nearly 200 games.

Dowson said: “Gary (Gold) has made it very clear what he wants.

“He’s simplified things and given everyone their role and there’s always an accountability where Gary will come after you if you are not necessarily doing your job.

“This league isn’t about fancy rugby. It’s not about playing because there’s a more pragmatic approach and there is a way to win games. We saw that against Saracens.

“If you play in the right area, exert pressure and build momentum then you get yourselves in a strong situation.”

Gold appears the ideal candidate to become a permanent director of rugby at Sixways but a lot will depend on whether Warriors can retain their Premiership status.

Second-from-bottom Warriors travel to Northampton on Saturday (3pm) before hosting relegation rivals Bristol in a crunch clash on March 5 (3pm).

“Whether Gary stays or whoever the next director of rugby is a vital cog in what happens next,” said Dowson.

“I think it’s hugely exciting with the guys they’ve got and the academy boys they are producing and the set-up. It just needs the next step to be the right one and I don’t there’s any stopping this club.”

He added: “There’s an unbelievable group of lads in terms of talent and character and there are some really good people at the club and in the support staff as well around the outsides of it.

"Everything is set and the foundations are laid. This next year is vital to whoever takes over.”