Image:Dai Young: Trying not to panic after latest defeat
Dai Young admitted Wasps are in a survival battle at the foot of the Aviva Premiership after their fifth successive defeat.
Warriors boss buzzing after Wasps scalp
Director of rugby Dai Young admitted Wasps are in a survival battle at the foot of the Aviva Premiership after crashing to their fifth successive defeat on New Year's Day.
The losing streak is Wasps' longest in the league for a decade, but Young refused to panic after a 6-0 loss to Worcester left the Adams Park side second from bottom in the standings.
"We're in a dogfight with four or five other teams, scrapping for our lives but we're not in any better or worse position than any of them," said Young.
"There is no point panicking. Chucking all the bricks out of the pram doesn't get you anywhere."
Project
Young joined Wasps from Cardiff Blues on a four-year contract in June and must now prepare his team for a trip to Leicester next Saturday.
"I said when I came here I didn't expect an easy season. There isn't a quick fix; it's a real project both on and off the field," Young said.
Wasps controlled possession and were arguably more creative but made handling errors at key times and struggled to find a way through a solid Worcester defence.
"We played all the rugby and Worcester never threatened us," Young said.
"But the handling was disappointing with ball in hand, our ball retention was not good enough and we never turned pressure into points.
"We've got to keep working. We know we can do it, we've had some good results in Europe. We're not a million miles from it."
Wasps lost three players to injury before half-time, including fullback Richard Houghton to a groin problem suffered during the warm-up, and nine players were already unavailable before the match.
"We've got a great team in the stand. It's frustrating for us all," Young said.
Worcester boss Richard Hill recognised victory as vital for his side, their first success away from home in the Premiership since April 2009.
Worries
"It's a big one for us; it means we can start to look upwards rather than over our shoulder at Newcastle," Hill said, after Wasps pulled away from the Falcons at the bottom of the table.
"I know Wasps were understrength but they have the most potent threequarter line in the Premiership so when we saw the rain coming down we were pleased.
"We edged the kicking battle and the territory. Wasps did attack from deep but this wasn't the weather for it."
Hill faces further worries over the fitness of his back row before he returns to his former club Gloucester next Saturday.
Samoan number eight Ezra Taylor lasted just two minutes on debut before suffering a snapped patella tendon, which Hill expects will spell the end of his season.
"We were bitterly disappointed - it's a big blow," he added.