The Saints director of rugby has prepared his men for their opening game against Worcester on Sunday.

But he is also looking further ahead and hopes to prove a few people wrong.

He declared: "We certainly don't want to be fighting relegation and worried about that.

"We've enjoyed pre-season but now we are down to the proper part of the game.

Read our preview of the big opening game by clicking here.

"It is going to be tough as there are 11 other good sides. The Premiership has got to be our focus and we will put everything into doing well in it.

"It is quite interesting looking at the predictions as most of them have us in the bottom three. That is a good motivation for the team.

"You can understand why people are predicting us to be there.

"We've been in the first division for a season and it took Harlequins quite a long time to get off the mark and Leeds struggled last season.
"It is going to be interesting to see where we will end up.

"I won't be doing any predicting. We have got five very tough league games in September and at the end of this month we will have a better idea of where we are.

"We know we are a relatively young side. We are going to have to work hard for each other and we will see where we end up."

Sunday's match, which is live on Sky Sports, is not a sell-out.

How do you think the Saints will do this season? Leave a comment at the bottom of this story or click here to tell the Evening Telegraph sports desk