DIRECTOR of rugby John Brain is confident the hot weather will not derail Worcester's bid for Premiership survival.

The Warriors players appeared to wilt in the heat as they went down 26-16 at London Irish on Sunday.

But Brain believes they will not suffer as much in their final game against Saracens - providing they can keep hold of the ball.

"I think it can work in your favour if you control possession," said Brain.

"We didn't control possession. We are far better off if we are using our power in possession and in control of the ball.

"In conditions such as this, that's the key factor. If you can spend far more time attacking than defending, your team is going to be fresher.

"I don't know what the possession stats were in the game but they were probably around 70-30 in their favour. I think any team is going to struggle in the face of that."

Worcester's game-plan tends to revolve around one of the heaviest packs in the country but they struggle against the more mobile sides like Irish, whose dynamic running game allows them to prosper on hard, dry pitches.

The sun was beating down for Sunday's clash at the Madejski and Exiles director of rugby Brian Smith admitted the conditions helped inform his tactics for the game.

"It's a massive side they have got and a massive bench and we knew with the heat, we needed to run them around," said Smith.

"They had everything to play for and they put up a hell of a fight but in the end we ran them around just enough."

The good news for Warriors is there are still 10 days to go before the decisive Saracens clash and plenty of time for temperatures to return to levels normally associated with this time of year.

But, more importantly, lock Craig Gillies is expected to return to the fray after sitting out the game at Reading because of a ban for stamping.

"You are always going to miss Craig because he controls our line-out," said Brain.

"I thought the two locks worked hard but it was an area where we struggled. The crucial try which really took them away from us was an indirect result of us failing to win a line-out in our own 22'.

"We are always going to miss him but we have got him back for the next game which is good."

The clash with Saracens on April 28, which will determine whether Worcester or Northampton are relegated, will be shown live on Sky Sports.