Steve Meehan is delighted to see his side back at the top of the table and has urged them to maintain their form.
Bath coach happy with win but urges team to push on
Bath head coach Steve Meehan has urged his team to enjoy their return to the top of the Guinness Premiership, but prepare for a gruelling few weeks ahead.
Bath took advantage of Gloucester and Leicester's inactivity in the Premiership to climb back to the summit after seeing off London Irish 19-16.
Tries from Mike Stephenson and Matt Banahan proved just enough for Bath, although Meehan admitted afterwards his side were not at their best.
"It's a good place for a team to be," said Meehan. "We should acknowledge it and enjoy it.
"These guys have worked very hard. We are not rapt with the performance today but we got the result we wanted.
"The players know they have to deliver now - train hard and play well in the matches.
"The younger players especially are getting more experienced and getting used to the speed of the Premiership and its physicality.
"I was delighted to see a couple of younger guys in the squad seeing opportunities and taking them. Matt Banahan's try was what we are striving for."
Meehan also revealed that South Africa's World Cup winning fly-half Butch James could also be back in action in the not too distant future.
"We are hopeful that he will be available for the match against Leeds in the European Challenge Cup in a fortnight," he added.
"But if the physios deem another week is necessary or even two then so be it."
Booth disappointed
London Irish forwards coach, Toby Booth, admitted his side had blown any lingering hopes of a play-off berth despite their losing bonus point.
"I imagine it's mathematically possible to get into the top four but whether it's really achievable is another matter," Booth stated.
"We will shift our attention now to getting a Heineken Cup qualification place.
"It was a tight game - we knew it would be. We created chances but didn't capitalise on them. In this very competitive championship, if you don't kick your goals you get punished.
"The Bath boys said to me afterwards that they found it rather fatiguing. If I'm honest, for the second week running we played well with the lions' share of possession but came up short."
