I DID appreciate the support that came my way as the result of last week's column, which made it even more disappointing that we missed an opportunity to record a big win in Europe.

My main issue was with people questioning our attitude after our defeat in Leinster, suggesting that we had a mentality of not really wanting to be there.

That's frustrating because that's certainly never been the case for me and I expect everyone else in our squad would say exactly the same.

Every time a player steps out onto the field and puts their body on the line they risk everything from selection the next week, your own reputation and that of your club and ultimately short or long-term injury.

In my 190 appearances for the Dragons there have been a handful that I can recall that I wish I could forget because of a poor performance, but that's the nature of sport.

The difference between my friends that turn out for Newport High School Old Boys and me is that it is my job, something that I get judged on by many and ultimately pays my mortgage.

If you genuinely care about the game, as we all do, then you do beat yourself up a bit and run over moments from matches in your mind.

You might lose some sleep over a performance or a mistake, but the older I get, the less that I dwell on the past. It pays to concentrate on the future.

However, there's no getting away from the fact that tonight we will have to remedy a situation and the turnaround has been quick; rather than waiting a few weeks or months we have had just six days.

There were many bruised bodies after our loss to Worcester at Sixways and we have been a very frustrated group after failing to take a big opportunity to not only move a step towards earning a quarter-final spot but also move away from any of the negativity after Dublin.

The Worcester game was similar to our loss to the Ospreys in October in that we were in control for large parts of the first half but got squeezed out both tactically, by cross-field kicks, and technically at the scrum.

Not since we played Bordeaux-Begles in Europe a few seasons back have I come up against a front five of that size and power around the field, which they demonstrated at the set piece.

Worcester may not be doing that well in the Aviva Premiership but they are dominating teams at the scrum and their defence around the ruck is formidable.

We now must play to our own game this week and build on our four wins on the bounce at Rodney Parade; we can't get bogged down into a set piece or aerial battle, we've got to play more (and get the ball to Ashton Hewitt out wide!).

Once again we had great travelling support at Worcester and we could hear their support until the final whistle, despite the horrendous rain.

We are determined to get back on track with another home success to give fans at Rodney Parade a win and also to get back the momentum going into the festive period and two massive derby games against Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys that are essential to our Guinness Pro12 campaign.