A DERBY game with Gloucester always has plenty of extra spice and this Friday night under the floodlights at Kingsholm will be no exception.

I’ve played in front of The Shed on many occasions and know we can expect a really red-hot reception from the start. There will be nowhere to hide and we have to stand up and be counted.

Gloucester are gunning for a top-four finish and have hit a good run of form in recent weeks with victory over Northampton Saints before they pushed London Wasps all the way at Adams Park last Sunday.

Even though they will be missing a few players on international duty, they still possess an exceptionally talented and strong squad with the likes of Mike Tindall still going strong, Jonny May and Charlie Sharples out wide and Akapusi Qera and Sione Kalamafoni in the pack.

Our focus, though, has got to be on ourselves and performing after the 27-18 defeat to Northampton last weekend at Sixways.

I felt we produced some really good 15-man rugby on Saturday against the Saints and showed plenty of intent to play.

Players like Errie Claassens and Josh Drauniniu looked very dangerous every time they touched the ball and the boys never took a step backwards against a very physical and abrasive Northampton pack.

Ultimately, we got beaten by the power of the Saints who had a very solid scrum and line-out maul, which they used effectively and scored twice while we were down to 14 men in the second-half. This week we will be working exceptionally hard on stopping the line-out drive and developing a strategy that works for us.

Straight after the final whistle against Northampton we got together as a group and spoke in the huddle on the pitch about the importance of the game with Gloucester and responding in the right fashion.

As a squad we are strong, united and determined that we will come through this period as a better team. The passion at Sixways cannot be faulted and guys like James Percival and Matt Mullan spoke with real energy and self-belief after the game to the rest of the players.

Friday cannot come soon enough and we all want to get back on the field and produce the kind of performance and result that we need.

What better place to start than at Kingsholm?

I can understand the frustration from our supporters over results in recent weeks.

I spoke with many after the game on Saturday afternoon who are extremely passionate about the Warriors and seeing this club climb the league table.

It’s fantastic to see that level of support and I can promise you all we are working harder than ever to turn our fortunes around and get the victories we feel our play deserves.

The Aviva Premiership has always been a brutal and unforgiving world where only the very strongest will survive. We now have seven more games to go and Friday night must be the start of better things for us.