Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan believes his team are on the rise after snapping their three-game losing streak.
Cherry and Whites looking to build after ending losing run
Gloucester head coach David Ryan hailed his team's comeback against London Irish and warned the rest that his side will only get better.
The Cherry and Whites came back from nine points down at half-time to record a 23-21 victory thanks to a late try from Iain Balshaw.
Ryan was delighted with the way his side responded from a bad start to end their three-game losing streak and overtake Irish at the top of the Guinness Premiership.
"I think we could have found 101 excuses why we're not playing well, who's missing, who they've got back," he told
Sky Sports.
Answers
"We made a few mistakes in the first half which we can't really compensate for. We gave them 15 points."
After three consecutive defeats, the Gloucester boss admits that it is a testing time for his squad but insists they will improve.
"There's been a lot of stuff thrown around in the last few weeks but we're sat at the top of the league and that probably answers quite a few of those wise men that are out there," he added.
"We know we're going to get stronger."
Match-winner Balshaw also recognised that the team were not firing on all cylinders, but said coming away with the victory was the most important thing.
"The last three weeks, with the standards we set, we've been pretty poor," he said. "We've been bitterly disappointed with the last results, we're not on top of our game at the moment.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game and it came down to the wire and I'm just happy we stuck together as a team and got the result."
The only disappointment for Gloucester was a nasty injury picked up by Dave Lewis that leaves the club desperately short at scrum-half.
The 19-year-old broke his ankle when he fell awkwardly just three minutes after replacing Scotland international Rory Lawson. Fly-half Ryan Lamb was pressed into duties at number nine after Lewis was carried off.
Gloucester were already short of options having seen Dwayne Peel drafted into Wales' RBS 6 Nations squad because of Gareth Cooper's knee injury.
Disappointing
Exiles boss Toby Booth felt his side paid the price for not taking their chances when they were on top in the opening 40 minutes.
"We penalised ourselves out of the game," he said. "The ball we did have in the second half, we kicked poorly away. We stopped doing the things we had been doing well.
"Gloucester is not the easiest place to come, and I am pleased with our physicality to live with them - it is just disappointing we didn't turn pressure into points.
"This game is all about momentum, and when you've got it you have got to cash in on it.
"We had momentum in the first half, and Gloucester had it in the second."
