I HESITATE to use the phrase but we have been having a brainstorming session this week after our disappointment at Exeter.

It was a heart-breaking defeat for us because, having looked at the game in depth, we seemed to do everything in the match apart from, rather obviously, score enough points.

The players will be meeting with the coaches to discuss things on an individual basis and give their opinions on why things are going wrong.

As a team, we are still learning to play together and this now is a good test of our mettle.

Because we were knocked out of the cup, we have this and next weekend off. However, I'm sure in the next two weeks, we will use that time extremely well.

Obviously there has been a lot of soul searching after the Exeter loss. It makes our task of winning promotion seem more difficult but, I think, it is still very much in the melting pot. We have to go to Rotherham next month and win and they have to visit Exeter, who have already beaten them this season, in March.

It's fair to say there will be more twists and turns in the New Year, that's for sure.

The players and the coaching staff are now looking at all areas of our game plan to see whether we need to make any changes. The final decisions will be, of course, down to the coaches. However, I don't think we need to make wholesale changes.

There has been criticism of our kicking game but what is laid out before the match is a genuinely good plan. It, however, needs to be carried out well by players.

If the guys do not perform to their potential then the plan is irrelevant. Sport is all about players and performance and if things go wrong on the field, the game plan means very little.

If you can put up a good kick and chase, it is a viable tactic - it works well. If it doesn't come off, it looks as if we are simply kicking aimlessly.

Maybe we need to look at keeping the ball a little more in the games coming up - especially 50 metres out. We showed that if we can keep the ball and drive the ball on, our forwards are a very potent weapon.

We caused Exeter all sorts of problems with our driving maul but there is always a balance to be struck. There are a lot of things that are going well but it's just silly errors which are causing us problems. I thought Ben Hinshelwood was again very consistent not only in attack but in defence and has been one of our best players this season. It's encouraging that he can keep performing so consistently despite some of us being a bit up and down.

We need to go back to basics and see what we are not doing that we were at the start of the season. John Brain is big enough to take the responsibility but I feel it is us who are letting him and the supporters down. We have been talking through things this week and hopefully, little things will come out and we can tinker somewhat with what we are doing.

Many people are very keen to write us off and I would encourage people to do that. I'm not interested anymore in what people think, especially those out of the city. As far as Worcester and the players are concerned, we are still in there fighting and we will never give up. Yes we have had a blip against, what must be said, were a good side. If anything, though, the defeat just makes me, and the rest of the guys, more determined to succeed.