FORMER skipper Jonathan Thomas believes it’s vital Worcester Warriors give their supporters something to shout about this afternoon against play-off rivals London Scottish.

The 32-year-old admitted his biggest disappointment with last weekend’s loss to Jersey was letting down the army of Worcester supporters who had followed the team to the Channel Islands.

Thomas, who has been capped 67 times by Wales, thinks defeat could prove a blessing in disguise with the end-of-season Championship play-offs fast approaching.

“Last weekend was very disappointing because we lost and there was a fair bit of emotion attached to losing,” said the back-row forward.

“We had won 24 matches in a row so we had got into a habit of winning,” added Thomas.

“The nature of losing is very disappointing but I don’t think it will affect us going forward.

“Sometimes losing can be a good thing because it can re-focus the mind and you can go into your sub-groups and work on different areas that you need to improve like line-outs and scrums.

“It was quite a good occasion because it was a passionate crowd and it’s something we are going to face in the play-offs.

“The biggest disappointment for me was there was so much travelling support and we didn’t win the game for them.

“All we can do is thank the fans for their support and I think we need to repay them this weekend.

“I think the result shows we need to improve a little bit. At the same time, just because we lost a game of rugby, we can’t suddenly think it’s a crisis for us.

“We have done lots of good things over the last three to four months.

“We are very disappointed but we intend to improve, get back on the horse and make amends for it this weekend.”

Warriors are expecting a stiff test against third-placed London Scottish at Sixways.

“London Scottish are a very good side and they have got a particular game-plan and love driving line-outs and have got a decent, strong pack who play to their strengths,” said Thomas.

“When we played down there it was a difficult game and very tight.

“We need to start today’s game well. We are a motivated bunch on the back of losing last weekend so we want to make a good impression.

“We know we will need to be on the top of our game to make sure we win.”

Thomas, who signed a new two-year deal with Warriors in January, didn’t think Warriors were too far off the mark against Jersey.

Bur he felt Warriors didn’t execute their game-plan well enough.

“Sometimes when you lose it is due to a lack of effort but I didn’t feel we lost against Jersey because the players didn’t wear the shirt with pride or were not motivated,” he said.

“As a team, mentally we were switched on but we didn’t take our chances and use the conditions well enough.

“I would never question the mentality of the group of players.

“We have to better at executing our game-plan and what makes us different is we pride ourselves on setting our own standards.

“We need to be better than other teams in this league by how we execute our skill levels and if we don’t’ bring that to the table we are the same as any other team.”

He continued: “It’s a funny league and, from the games I have experienced this season, Jersey are one of the best teams and they sit in seventh place in the Championship.

“Doncaster have beaten Bristol in the British and Irish Cup and I thought Doncaster were very good opposition when we played against them in the league and they are third from bottom.

“You can’t take anything for granted in this league.”