NEWPORT Gwent Dragons want to see improvement from their young guns against London Wasps on Saturday – but they also need to end a four-match losing streak ahead of a tricky period.

The Rodney Parade region were beaten 21-13 by the Scarlets in their LV= Cup opener against the Scarlets last Friday.

The loss in Llanelli came on the back of defeats to Bath, the Ospreys and Leinster.

This time last year the Dragons went on a similar streak, losing a regional record seven games on the spin between October 5 and November 23.

They have made a promising start to 2012/13 but desperately need to get back to winning ways.

The home clash with Wasps is followed by games against the RaboDirect Pro12's top two – Glasgow and Munster – and an Amlin Challenge Cup double-header with Bordeaux.

That tough run won't lead to them plumping for their first-choice team this weekend but it does mean their young talent and fringe players will be under pressure to get the win in the development competition, not just show their potential.

"We made a number of changes for the Scarlets game and those boys wanted to go out there and stake a claim for the jersey," said head coach Darren Edwards.

"We expect an improvement on that performance from the guys that get a second chance against Wasps.

"That would be the perfect build-up to our next league game. It doesn't get any easier – we've got two tough Pro12 games, then Europe, then the Christmas derbies. It's an important block.

"There will be some changes for Wasps but we are also looking for some continuity so that guys can learn from their experiences at the Scarlets.

"This tournament is invaluable so that we can see these players, go through their performance and give them targets for Wasps.

"Whatever mistakes people made against Scarlets need to be rectified and then we know that we have got good rugby players that are going to improve."

The Dragons handed debuts to six players in west Wales – 17-year-old lock Joe Davies, 19-year-old flanker Scott Matthews and 18-year-old centre Tyler Morgan started while 19-year-old scrum-half Luc Jones, 18-year-old wing Ashton Hewitt and 26-year-old utility back Rhys Jones came off the bench.

"It was a big stage for a first game; a derby game in front of a bigger crowd than they are used to," said Edwards.

"I'm sure there were a lot of nerves and that probably reflected in the first-half performance where as a team we were just waiting for things to happen and made too many errors.

"Young players will do some really good things and then there will be mistakes, we expect that, but the second half was much better; they got hold of the game and started to express themselves.

"There were some really good glimpses from our young boys and it's important they improve this weekend."