BATH head coach Gary Gold says that his side were licking their wounds after their disappointing defeat at Sale Sharks last Friday but has been pleased with the reaction his players have shown in training this week.

Gold’s men slipped to their second defeat of the season away from the Rec as they went down 19-13 at the AJ Bell Stadium.

The Bath chief reckons that his team have been struggling for consistency so far this term but is taking heart that the key to improvement rests solely in his players’ hands.

“Against Sale, we didn’t cope with the physicality of the game and in areas where we’ve been good this season, we didn’t compete,” said Gold.

“Credit to Sale because they did their job but it was very disappointing for us and the players were all hurting afterwards.

“I think that indifferent is the word to describe our season so far and a bit of consistency is what we’re striving for so that we can look to mount a decent challenge this year.

“One thing that people won’t have seen is that they players have been absolutely brilliant in training this week and they’re ready to write the wrongs of last weekend.

“We’ve got a very tough game coming up in the Amlin Cup (tomorrow), which is arguably our toughest game in the pool – in a lot of ways, that’s the perfect match for us to go into.

“Myself and Mike (Ford) know a few of their guys from our time at Newcastle and it’ll be another big challenge for us.

“They’ve had a good start in the Top 14 and they’ve beaten some big teams already but we’re confident about going there and performing.

“How we improve this season is down to us and hopefully we can find that consistency that we’re striving for.”

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