FRIDAY’S result against Sale Sharks was a bitter pill to swallow given the resilience we showed in the first-half.

Looking at Sale’s results this campaign, it is clear to see they are a different side to last season and the AJ Bell Stadium is now a tough place to go.

We were encouraged by our start to the game, although we couldn’t find a try to build a lead. We dominated parts of the first-half but lacked a bit of accuracy at crucial moments.

We were also competitive in the scrum and it is clear to see we are moving in the right direction in that respect.

When we played Sale in the Amlin Challenge Cup last month, their forward pack looked much stronger than ours so it is pleasing to see that we’ve made progress.

Their try before half-time was a cruel blow, especially when you consider the fact that we were on the attack moments before.

We regrouped at the break and were confident we could go on and win the game, with a gritty and determined performance.

But after the break Sale raised their level and put us under a lot of pressure, culminating in three more tries.

We showed spirit to get back into the game when Ofa Fainga’anuku went over the line, but didn’t quite have enough to turn the game around.

We’re back at Sixways this Saturday and we’re up against one of the strongest sides in the league — Northampton Saints.

Saints reached the Aviva Premiership final last season and have been in great form again this time out.

They’ve only lost one game all season and have conceded the fewest points in the league.

We recognise how big our challenge is.

They base their game around their forward pack so we will have to work hard and show the resilience we did for much of the Sale match.

It’s our last chance to get something before we go into the Amlin Challenge Cup so we’re looking forward to the battle.

It would be great to see a big crowd at Sixways again. We had large gates against Bath and Leicester Tigers in recent weeks and it makes a huge difference.

We have really improved in the last few weeks and are taking forward steps all the time. That support has been crucial.

We are a lot more confident and the work we are doing on the training field is now starting to show on the pitch.

If we keep doing the things we are good at and cut out the mistakes, I’m confident we’ll start to pick up results.