Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath admitted after their narrow win over Worcester that his side have underachieved this season.
"The season in general has not been good enough," Gloucester boss says
After Gloucester ended their season in seventh place in the Guinness Premiership, head coach Bryan Redpath admitted that his side have underachieved.
The Cherry and Whites almost did exactly that on Saturday, scraping past relegated Worcester with a 23-22 victory at Sixways after a last-second drop goal from the ex-Gloucester fly-half Willie Walker bounced off the post.
Tries from flanker Akapusi Qera, wing Lesley Vainikolo and hooker Scott Lawson plus eight points from Nicky Robinson's boot proved just enough for Gloucester.
Wing Chris Pennell and centre Alex Grove crossed for the Warriors in the first half before a third touchdown from fly-half Joe Carlisle set up the grandstand finish.
Redpath said: "We made hard work of it. It was down to our basics and simple execution. Our patterns of play were poor today.
"It was a tough day for Worcester but, from my point of view, I think that was the worst we have played since October. They did not have to work for anything.
"It has been 11 months and a week since we started pre-season on June 1 last year so the boys have been at it a long time, so I take my hat off to them for that.
"But the season in general has not been good enough and there is a heck of a lot of work to do. We have to realise what work is and that is what the next pre-season will be about. We have got to make it a tough environment.
"We had opportunities but we didn't execute well."
Redpath added: "Credit to Worcester, they stuck in and defended well and you have to be very humble to them in these situations.
"You don't like to see anyone going down but it is dog eat dog these days. You have got to have sympathy for them but, ultimately, they have got themselves in it. So a win is a win for us and I'm delighted with it."
Character
Worcester's Andrew Stanley, who has been caretaker coach at Sixways since the departure of rugby director Mike Ruddock after the defeat to Leeds which confirmed their relegation, said the result reflected their season.
"There were a couple of things in the game which, you could say, summarised our season," said Stanley.
"There were a couple of structural errors that we needed to get right today which we didn't and were punished for them by Gloucester.
"This was potentially a very difficult week for us, coming off the back of the Leeds game and the fallout from that.
"We sat down as a group and challenged the boys to show some character, stand up for themselves and take it on.
"The performance today showed that they were fantastic in that respect and we are proud of their effort, energy and commitment."
