WE now have a run of three matches in the Greene King IPA Championship, starting against Bedford Blues tomorrow night at Sixways.

Some of us have enjoyed a great time away from contact rugby over the past four weeks, while others have played in our British and Irish Cup programme.

It’s now time for business and another chance to take another step forward in the league.

We had a great performance at Rotherham in our last outing in the league and we don’t want to take a backward step.

I am buzzing at the prospect of pulling on the Worcester Warriors shirt again and it’s crucial for us to click into the next gear.

We will respect the way that Bedford play and we know they are very strong at eight and 10 but we will focus on our own game.

There are likely to be some new combinations in our side and, as Dean Ryan has already revealed, Ryan Lamb will be playing his first game after injury.

It’s good to have Ryan back because he’s a big personality in the camp and brings something different to the other fly-halves at the club.

Ryan is a crucial part of the structures and how we play so it is great to see him making a return.

The Warriors team have won three matches in the British and Irish Cup and done superbly.

Some of those guys will now go into their own conditioning block for three weeks.

In my first captain’s column in your Worcester News I said that we wanted to create a competitive environment and I believe that has happened.

The young guys are pushing for starting positions and putting a bit of pressure on the more experienced players.

We need a fully-fit squad come January and February and have to make sure every player in the squad has played a similar amount of minutes.

I think, at times, we struggled with our discipline during the British and Irish Cup phase and we gave away too many penalties.

We have to make sure we stay onside and keep the officials on our side and need to be harder on ourselves and make sure we finish off all the opportunities we create.

I am very keen to hear feedback from the supporters and engage with the fans and I would welcome them to get in touch with me on Twitter @GJvanVelze.

On another positive note, it was great to see Jonny Arr, James Percival and Ryan Bower gain selection for the Championship team against Canada.

I heard that Jonny made a big impression when he came on as a replacement and had a great game.