DON'T turn up late to watch Worcester this season!

After our lightning start against Manchester, my message to the supporters is to get here on time just in case they miss out.

We had a cracking start to the match, which we went on to win 45-11, and were 31-0 up after just 24 minutes.

I think many people were expecting the game to be won in the final quarter but in the end, it was pretty much over after the first 24. The tempo in which we began the game is something we are looking to reproduce every week because if you can hit teams hard in the opening minutes, sometimes it can be a shock to them after a long journey to Sixways.

Chris Garrard took the plaudits with four tries and rightly so because he did extremely well for a debutant. I think Sateki Tuipulotu had a good game while Ben Clarke's work rate was excellent.

If anyone had offered us that result before kick-off, we would have taken it. We have not only taken five points from the encounter but we also now sit proudly on top of the National One table.

They were the positive points to come out of the game but after the 80 minutes, I think many of the players were disappointed with their performances. That we are picking holes in our game after such a substantial win shows how high the standards are for this season not just for the club, but for each individual.

We didn't play well for around a third of the match and despite getting the result, we know we must improve if we want to win the league and play to a standard on a par with the Premiership. If you consider we went from the 24th minute until the final 10 minutes without scoring, it shows up why we were annoyed with ourselves.

That disappointment will push us in the right direction though because there has been no celebration around the club this week. We are 100 per cent focused on improving many areas of our game before Saturday's Birmingham & Solihull clash.

If we had cruised through the Manchester match with an 80-point haul then there was a danger of some of the players maybe not looking as closely at the negative aspects of our game. There is no worry of complacency now. We've given ourselves a kick up the backside and that will keep us on our toes.

All the boys know the potential of the squad and we want to be in a position where we would be comfortable playing a Premiership team by Christmas. We are all well aware that some of the things we did on Saturday would have led to us being severely punished against a top flight team. You cannot afford to lose your concentration in a game even after you have scored four tries in quick succession.

Personally, I don't think I played particularly well. I have to hold my hands up and say I could have played a lot better.

It is something the head coach John Brain has reminded me of - don't worry about that! Maybe I was looking around and worrying about what everyone else was doing too much. I should just get on with my own game but as captain, you want to lead and make sure there is direction on the field.

Some of the moves we've worked on will come as second nature soon but at the moment, I think things need to be pointed out. Overall though, I was just pleased to be out there after my shoulder injury.

Following our final pre-season game against Sale I would have given myself a 20 per cent chance of making Manchester but I managed to come through it. The injury is coming on and I think it will be 95 per cent better on Saturday.

The tackle that put Duncan Roke in hospital was the main talking point after the game and it's sad in a way that everyone is left to reflect on a bad challenge rather than the performances of players. I think we will see more of that sort of mentality from visiting teams this season but it's not what people pay their money to watch. The last thing I want to see is someone get sent off but it was at least a yellow card offence.

If people think they can kick, punch and stamp on you without punishment, they will do it all day. It's not something I want on a rugby pitch though, we want to avoid confrontation as much as possible. We are capable of playing at such a pace that people will be punching shadows if that is the game they want to play.

Hopefully, Birmingham will be chasing shadows at the weekend!

n Read Worcester Rugby Club captain Kingsley Jones' exclusive column every Thursday in the Evening News.