THERE is something fascinatingly familiar about the loquacious talk emanating from Sixways at present.

Continuity has, for a long time, been something which is constantly yearned for but always seems agonisingly out of reach.

Adrian Skeggs, quite understandably, after last year's April defeat at Leeds, which ended another promotion dream, underlined the importance of keeping a settled squad in the post-match interview at Headingley while looking longingly across at the buoyant Phil Davies.

That message was taken on board, digested and subsequently binned along with the Australian as Worcester embarked on a new route to success.

Almost a year on and the noises are the same but the suspicion is that again we are faced with another tortuous selection of non sequiturs. It is understandable, perhaps, because Worcester are in the same position - endlessly ambitious but riddled with the problems which accompany failure to reach the top flight.

The successes of the season sit pretty awaiting a better deal, bouncing offers to and fro. If they fail to transpire, they clear off ala Andrew Higgins and Chris Simpson-Daniel while the valued fringe players wonder about the profit of stopping on.

Ben Hinshelwood is undoubtedly one of the signings of the season for Worcester and a player who has done no wrong since his move from Bedford. Whether at centre or full-back the Australian cum Scotsman has been one of the best players on the park on more occasions than not. Courted by a number of Premiership and Celtic League clubs, however, he faces some tough decisions before his contract expires in June.

"I would like to stay and John Brain and Andy Keast have both made it clear to me that they want me at Worcester next season," he said.

"There is a definite attraction of being part of a side that goes from the first division to the Premiership. I also have no doubt that the two coaches can develop the team and individually, my game.

"I just have to weigh up the options and we'll see what happens at the end of the season. There has been interest from other clubs but I haven't made any decisions yet."

Edinburgh Reivers have monitored his progress closely in recent weeks and with Hinshelwood hoping to break into the Scotland squad, the attraction is clear.

The 24-year-old, though, is keeping all options open.

"They want me to go up there and the move might be good for getting into the Scotland set-up but that's a big move going there. I'm just not sure at the moment. I definitely feel loyalty towards Worcester and the coaches because they've helped me enormously over the season. I've certainly got a tough decision to make."

When the season draws to a close, fly half Tony Yapp will look again with some bewilderment at his plight at Sixways. Outstanding against Otley at the weekend, Yapp has rarely let the side down when called upon. Towards the end of last season after playing second fiddle to Earl Va'a for much of the time, he was given the opportunity to make the number 10 jersey his own. And when Va'a left in the summer, the path to that role looked fairly clear.

Enter Craig Chalmers and Steven Vile and he was back to square one. He now has to question whether he has come to the parlous point in his Sixways career, awaiting yet another big name to sweep through the revolving doors in June, or whether the coaches will finally put faith in Yapp and draw out some of that untapped talent.

A conservative estimate, looking through the squad, tells you that up to 15 players will leave in the summer for varying reasons. With new contracts up for grabs for academy youngsters such as Jon Higgins, Neil Mason and Gary Trueman, the recruitment policy is certainly different to, say, symbolic swoops for Ben Clarke.

And the line from the club remains that Brain will be dealing with a very different budget from last summer's spending spree.

"We will not spend as much money as last season but I think we will have a better squad because I'm spending the money," Brain said this week.

The budget, again backed by chairman Cecil Duckworth, will surely have to be flexible but, you have to suspect, if Brain goes to the multi-millionaire with a lavish shopping list there is likely to be enough credit on the card.

It seems logical to give Brain a chance to form his team rather than be given the task of shaping a collage of ideas from different coaches as has happened in the past. That continuity of ideas and vision will be a vital factor if Worcester are to compete next season. If Brain can be given the chance to build something from this season, the omens are encouraging.

The only worry is that time is running out and with one year left of guaranteed promotion there still needs to be an element of quick fix. With that in mind, the priority has to be to keep hold of the Hinshelwoods and Chris Garrards of this world. Continuity may come at some cost and the term may, of course, be a veiled excuse to bump up prices of such luminaries.

That, however, is the harsh reality of professional sport. It was a reality which bit deep into last year's player of the season Dave Sims when his pay was sliced to make way for the big names of the summer.

It is a situation which brings with it all the pressures that Worcester and Duckworth dictate and is an unenviable minefield for coach Brain. Contractual negotiations are never fun but the significance of the outcomes, like 12 months before, will have a direct bearing on future success.

When Hinshelwood suggests he has a tough decision to make, he has it absolutely right.