DESPITE the first XV’s current struggles, Dean Ryan insists the future is bright for Worcester Warriors.

The Sixways side host on-song Bath tonight (7.45pm) looking for their first Aviva Premiership win and Ryan is under no illusion as to how tough a challenge his players face this season.

However, amid the gloom, there are a few highlights that have caught the Worcester chief’s eye since he took the Sixways helm this summer, such as the impression young South African recruit Dean Hammond has made.

He said: “Dean has represented himself really well and does his job. He’s a young man who’s ambitious, came over and put himself on the line — he looks the part.

“That’s exactly the profile of the person I want. He’s got a lot to learn, he’s 21, so that doesn’t make him a regular starter. But what it says is that’s the sort of rewards you get for being that sort of individual.

“That’s exactly the sort of profile of other people we want to get through. We have a gap because we don’t have an academy system that’s got 12 or 13 of them lined up.”

Ryan has been scathing of his predecessor Richard Hill’s decision to decimate the once-prolific Warriors academy, but there are still a few gems left in the system.

The former England number eight added: “I watched the ‘A’ team win again. Boycey (Andrew Boyce) at seven was just unbelievable and they’ve got real energy. They have got real desire to do well — that group is the future. Jack Cosgrove is a prop of the future playing at Worcester.

“That’s my job to create that environment with those type of people playing here and that will lead to this club being successful, I’ve no doubt about that. The next group are coming through, Boyce and Cosgrove are 18 and they are outstanding.

“I want to make sure I create the right kind of environment that they can come into and this is the right type of club that they want to stay at. Cosgrove’s an example of what the future will look like. That’s not going to happen overnight and probably not next year but that’s exactly the example of the type of person this club should want to put a shirt on.”

However, Ryan added that he sees little point in trying to bring in more players to boost the ailing first XV.

He explained: “I think this club has followed that short-term route. Most people who are available now either don’t contribute to this group because that’s why they are available or are here for two or three years for the wrong reasons.

“That ends up being exactly the same situation year on year. This club has made a decision that it doesn’t want to keep doing that — that’s the reality of the situation.

“We have to work our way through this 12 months and then ensure we never find ourselves in this situation again. That’s my brief, it’s what I came here to do and that’s what I’m not going to change.”