Bristol coach Paul Hull has described Saturday as a 'dark day' following his side's relegation from the Guinness Premiership.
Coach confident of Premiership return
Bristol coach Paul Hull has described Saturday as a 'dark day' following his side's 38-21 defeat by London Irish and subsequent relegation from the Guinness Premiership.
Defeat at the Madejski Stadium, coupled with Worcester's 22-8 victory over Saracens, condemned Bristol to National League One with two matches still to play.
"We're very, very disappointed but we knew it was a long shot," said the former England full-back.
"It's been an emotional rollercoaster over the last five weeks and I'm just proud that the players have stuck at it.
"London Irish was a game too far but at least we played right until the end.
"Today is a dark day but most people thought we'd go down and felt we were just staving off the inevitable.
"Hopefully you'll never see any Bristol player give up. As a team we won't do that."
Foundations
Hull however, has been preparing for what has looked inevitable since Bristol's 35-3 home thrashing by Newcastle in mid-February and is confident the club can bounce back.
"The foundations for next season have been put in place over the last couple of weeks," he added.
"I've been recruiting heavily behind the scenes. There are a few more holes to fill but we're almost done and dusted.
"I'll speak to everyone in the squad and we'll decide what happens from here. Everything is ongoing.
"The game plan is taking shape and we'll have a squad to compete with guys who passionately want to play for Bristol.
"The future is bright and the club is well placed to come straight back up. I won't make predictions but we're in a stronger position than last time we were relegated.
"Every club wants to be in the Premiership. This is where the prizes are, where the pressure is and where international players operate."
Emotional
In contrast, victory gave the Exiles' top four hopes a huge boost but head coach Toby Booth said his side would need to improve if they were to secure a Heineken Cup slot.
"We want to maintain being control in our own destiny," he said.
"We're in a position to do that and that's important as we found out to our peril last season. Now we are entering the month of truth.
"The reason we're not in the Heineken Cup this year is because we were depending on other results. When that happens it's an emotional time to say the least.
"In order for us to get in the top four we'll have to be much better than today because we seemed average at times."
