JAMIE Shillcock is determined to prove that Worcester Warriors director of rugby Alan Solomons does not need to recruit another fly-half.

Warriors were hit with a big blow last week when it emerged Jono Lance would be out for up to four months with a partial stress fracture to the back.

Solomons revealed he would hold talks with Worcester’s owners over the possibility of adding another number 10 into the mix.

But Shillcock believes he and Scotland international Duncan Weir can “do it on our own” by shouldering the stand-off responsibilities at Warriors.

“If they feel that they need more depth then that’s something the coaches will decide on,” Shillcock said.

“But I want to be able to prove a point that they don’t need to bring anyone in and show that the two of us can do it on our own.

“We can manage games and finish games off.

“For instance I can come off the bench if they need to close the game out or up the tempo to try to win that last 20 minutes.”

Weir has established himself as Warriors’ first-choice number 10 since making the move from Edinburgh this summer.

But Shillcock, who has recently come back from knee surgery, has also had experience of pulling the strings in that position.

The 21-year-old starred at fly-half in the previous two campaigns and reckons he has improved in the shirt.

“When I first started at 10 I was a very nervous 19-year-old coming in and trying to run games,” Shillcock recalled.

“But I think I have become a lot more confident.

“Coming back from injury I need to get back into that state of confidence where I know I am good enough, strong enough and fast enough to be a Premiership fly-half.

“I just need to get that ball in my hands and back myself to make decisions on the pitch all the time and make sure I test myself rather than go through the motions in training or on the pitch and make decisions too early.”

On Lance’s injury, Shillcock added: “It’s really unlucky for him but it gives me the opportunity to push Duncan now to make him better and obviously try to get that 10 shirt which is good for everyone.

“Jono having that time off and being able to come back would be even better for all of us.”

However, Shillcock shone at full-back in last Friday’s 35-3 victory over Sale Sharks in the Premiership Cup and admitted he was undecided over which role he saw himself in in the future.

“Being able to play in both positions is a good thing as I think 10 and full-back are interchangeable,” Shillcock said.

“There are guys in the Premiership like Alex Goode and Danny Cipriani who can play full-back and 10 and I think it helps massively with regards to your positioning on the pitch and kicking for corners.

“I quite enjoy full-back.

“I know I can swap with Penns (Chris Pennell) or Duncan or whoever is in the team.

“I quite enjoy having that interchangeable aspect of my game and as a 10 and 15 here we play similar roles and we have got that left foot, right foot in the back field.”