FOR many people, the prospect of taking your team to a ground where the opposition haven't lost a league match for nearly three years might be a daunting proposition.

But the man leading out Worcester Warriors at Welford Road tomorrow is not fazed by the task of delivering a first Premiership win of the season against the mighty Leicester.

Kai Horstmann is taking temporary charge on the field while skipper Pat Sanderson fulfils his requirements with England.

Sanderson takes with him a massive reputation as a leader but the challenge of filling the void does not worry Horstmann.

"It's not too hard a job because everyone has got the same sort of focus and everybody is fighting for the same cause," he said.

"It's a massive honour really, doing a job like this when Pat is away. We are just excited as a squad to be facing the challenge.

"I had been captain in pre-season games and I have just taken that role now Pat is away. It's quite easy when you have got players around you like Chris Horsman, the Forteys, Craig Gillies and Shane Drahm. It makes life a lot easier."

It marks an extraordinary turnaround in fortunes for the 25-year-old. Just 18 months ago, Horstmann was kicking his heels on the bench at Harlequins as the club spiralled towards relegation.

After switching to Sixways last summer, the back-row forward emerged from the shadows to play a prominent part in their Premiership campaign.

His performances thrust him into the international reckoning and he received a last-minute call up to the England Saxons tour of North America in the off-season. But taking on the Warriors captaincy represents Horstmann's greatest challenge to date, particularly as the club are entering a critical phase of the season.

After facing a weakened Tigers side, they host Northampton and then face a potentially season-defining game at Twickenham Stoop against his former employers.

With no wins from five games, Horstmann knows results need to change fast if the club are to haul themselves off the bottom of the Guinness Premiership table.

"This is a huge period for us," he said. "It can transform our season. It is massively critical.

"Nobody wants to be at the bottom, fighting it out at the end. We are trying to lift the intensity with every game we play.

"I think in the Premiership, there is such a fine line between winning and losing and it comes down to real fine details and being clinical.

"We have let ourselves down, Newcastle away was a classic (example) and Sale at home. We had opportunities to finish that game off.

"We are working a lot on that in training. When you get into that 22', you want to be coming away with points. We can only improve on that area and if we improve we will start winning games.

"As soon as we turn the corner, we'll be a really good side."

Welford Road will not be an easy place to turn the tide but Horstmann is quietly confident and, the way his career has been going, you wouldn't bet against it.