POST match press conferences are never the best time to vent your feelings about referees.

Emotions are running high and it is always an easy excuse to blame the officials in the face of defeat.

So, straight after our 19-18 loss to Saracens on Saturday, I certainly had my opinion.

I thought Wayne Barnes' performance was unacceptable and during the next couple of days - after hours of analysis of the Premiership match - that verdict hasn't changed.

I was asked a number of times during that press conference to comment on the referee because it seemed obvious to many journalists that we were hard done by. However, I felt it was important to do things in the correct manner. We've sat down with the RFU's elite referee's body and discussed things calmly and with its representative.

Ultimately, we have been given an apology for the performance and we have to move on. It doesn't help us with regards to Premiership points but we have to safeguard the integrity of the game.

We are all in this together and, in the current climate, it is important that we work closely to take the game forward. We have a great deal of on-the-field respect shown to officials in our game and we certainly want that to continue.

We cannot afford to allow our standards to be lowered because we've seen in football how respect can be lost and how officials are now regularly berated by just about everybody. We must continue to show our officials respect and, if there are problems, we work them out together.

I thought our display against Saracens was excellent. That might sound strange considering we lost the match but, throughout the season, our analysis of games is always based around performance. We believe strongly that if you get the performance then the result normally follows.

We were a touch unlucky against Sarries. We made a couple of mistakes and players, such as Thinus Delport, have put their hands up. However, it should be said that Thinus' performance personified our fortune somewhat. He actually had a very good game but the one mistake he made, in first-half stoppage time, was mercilessly punished.

Both John Brain and I are very objective about our performances, whatever the result. On Monday morning, we go through the display and we look at which areas can be improved upon.

Some of our interplay between our backs and forwards was superb, our cutting edge in the backs was excellent and the scrum was very strong.

Players such as Lee Fortey and Ben Hinshelwood enjoyed fine performances and I was pleased for them both for different reasons. Lee hasn't had much game-time because of Chris Horsman and Tony Windo's form while Ben, by his own admission, has had a frustrating season. I thought his second try on Saturday was a class score, however. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

The plain fact after the weekend, however, was that we were four points off the bottom. Leeds' win over Leicester was remarkable and I have to admit that it's the first result this season that has made me feel physically sick.

It was hard to take, especially with us having played so well against Saracens, but we have to be positive and look forward. It was a reminder of what this game can do to you. Sometimes, coaches and players are accused of not caring enough. Well, I can assure everybody that I was hurting on Sunday evening and so were the rest of the boys.

We move back into the European Shield again on Saturday and our first leg tie against, ironically, Leeds. It's not a priority for either club but what we obviously hope is that we avoid injuries and give some other players a chance.

Jon Hylton comes in for his first competitive game of the campaign after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in pre-season. I'm delighted that Jon's back because he's worked hard at his fitness and I'm hoping to see that raw pace back on the Sixways turf.

Saturday is a chance for many players to impress and I'm looking forward to that. It's been difficult, with the recent overall form of the side, to make many changes but this tie gives us that chance.