THE attitude of scrum-half Francois Hougaard and lock Donncha O’Callaghan is a “big reason” why Gary Gold got involved in Worcester Warriors’ survival fight.

Gold has hailed the impact of Hougaard and the leadership qualities of O’Callaghan who was struggling to nail down a starting berth in Warriors’ squad under head coach Carl Hogg.

Gold was initially contracted as Warriors’ director of rugby until the end of the season but is widely expected to sign a longer-term deal at Sixways.

Warriors have picked up two Aviva Premiership wins from four under his watch and travel to table-topping Wasps on Sunday (2.30pm).

They are seven points clear of bottom club Bristol, who host Gloucester at Ashton Gate in a derby on Friday (7.45pm).

“A guy like Francois is such a positive guy and you can see he plays the game with his heart on his sleeve and it means a lot to him,” said Gold.

“He’s a big reason as to why I am here.

“When you’ve got world-class player like that and this place matters to him, then it’s encouraging for someone like me to come here.

"It makes my job very worthwhile. That’s the type of responsibility you want to see from a professional rugby player.

“You don’t just want a player somewhere just because he’s earning a good salary and that’s certainly not the case with Francois.”

Under Hogg, former Ireland and British and Irish Lions star O’Callaghan failed to make the squad for big matches against Saracens and Bristol.

And the vastly-experienced lock appeared to be heading out of Warriors at the end of this term when his contract expires.

But O’Callaghan has got a new lease of life since Gold arrived from South Africa at the end of January.

He is now captaining the side on the field and could be offered a new deal by the club.

“I think Donncha’s been an exceptional leader and really led from the front and is a brilliant professional off the field,” said Gold.

“I think the group of players have thrived on the energy and positive leadership that guys like Donncha and Francois have shown.

“I would like to believe the players have a little bit more confidence now.

“There was a lot of pressure going into the Bristol game (which Warriors won 41-24) and I am really chuffed for the players because if they work hard, they know they will get their rewards.”