DEAN Ryan has vowed Worcester Warriors will never suffer another season like the current campaign while he is at the helm.
Off the field, the Sixways club have been making big strides with the recruitment of Nick Johnston as high performance director, a beefed-up backroom staff and injecting new life into the dysfunctional academy system.
However, the disparate group of players that make up the first team squad have failed to gel and are languishing at the foot of the table without an Aviva Premiership win all season.
Director of rugby Ryan is tearing his hair out trying to find a solution, but insists he will not allow such poor performances in the future once his new regime has fully bedded in.
The former England number eight said: “We have to fight like mad now and get behind this club going forward, but I understand how difficult that is when you see things like what happened in the defeat to Sale on Saturday.
“I can give total assurance that in the future people won’t be allowed to perform in a way we have done this season – I won’t allow them to stay at this club.
“It is fundamental to playing this game and, if we can’t solve it, then the only option we have is to change it. That is the whole drive of what we are doing recruitment-wise.
“I have no doubts at all that we can stay in the Premiership. The gap is 12 points, so we have to win, but if we can go to Newcastle with four points under our arm, then the picture changes dramatically.”
Ryan added: “There are too many good people here not to make sure they have every chance of fighting against relegation.
“The transparency around the edge of that allows others to understand what the thoughts are as performances like the one against Sale are unacceptable and they happen too often. Time for propping that up has gone.
“It is pointless talking about the possibilities if we can’t get the type of emotional response that is a pre-requisite of playing this game. On Saturday, we didn’t do it and those individuals are under no illusions as to what my thoughts are because I don’t want this club to resemble that.
“However, that is in the past now and it won’t look like that in the future. How people conduct themselves from now on will depend on how much of a part they play for us, because it is unacceptable for people to work all week supporting them and then sit and watch that kind of performance.”
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