IF Worcester Warriors are in the last chance saloon, then Friday's clash against Wasps is certainly last orders as far as their Aviva Premiership survival hopes are concerned.

Lose to the Adams Park outfit under the glare of the Sixways floodlights and there will surely be no way back for Dean Ryan's team.

The magnitude of this match cannot be overstated. Indeed, Warriors have pinned their chances of pulling off the great escape firmly on the fixture.

They feel that a first win of the season would not only give them the spur to record more vital victories in the run-in but also set the nerves jangling at relegation rivals Newcastle.

Warriors reckon that if they can head into the Falcons clash on Sunday, March 30, on the back of a Wasps win, all the pressure will be on the men from Kingston Park.

Captain Jonathan Thomas has already said that nothing short of back-to-back wins will suffice in their bid to stay up.

Winning at Newcastle at the end of the month would almost become an irrelevance if Worcester trip up on Friday night.

Warriors have shown little over the past 16 matches to suggest they can suddenly secure the minimum three wins in six matches needed to reel in Newcastle.

But they have improved in recent weeks and it is that element fans must cling to in the hope they can avoid dropping into the Championship.

In losing narrowly to Leicester Tigers and Harlequins, as well as holding Northampton Saints for long periods at Franklin's Gardens, Worcester proved they could mix it with the league's best sides.

But the defeat at home to Sale Sharks demonstrated their fragility when the heat was really on, as it will be on Friday.

Having run Quins so close last time out, Warriors might also have wished to play Wasps straight away, rather than having to wait three weeks and risk losing any momentum they might have had.

But there has been no Premiership action during that time so everyone is in the same boat in that respect.

This is the final push for Warriors and they need to hit the ground running.