LOCK Darren Barry insists Worcester Warriors must “knuckle down” for their final three matches to secure a final league position which reflects their season’s efforts.

The former Cornish Pirates star admits the gruelling run of 10 successive matches finally took its toll on Warriors in a comprehensive 50-12 defeat at Exeter Chiefs in their last outing.

But Barry is hoping 10th-placed Warriors will be fresh for their Aviva Premiership Midlands derby against European Champions Cup semi-finalists Wasps at Sixways on Saturday (3pm).

Warriors are eyeing up a good finish in the hope they can leapfrog Bath and end the season in ninth spot.

“We have never thought about the relegation issue — we always aimed for higher than that and it would be a shame for all the work we put in during the block of 10 matches to fade away,” said Barry.

“We didn’t really want to come away from Exeter and look like a team who had been fighting relegation all season, so we have things to prove.

“We want to show we should be higher in the table, not lucky to survive, so we’ve got three games to knuckle down to achieve that and we will be fresher for the Wasps game.”

Warriors’ defeat at Exeter ended their four-match unbeaten run — the club’s best sequence of results in their Premiership history.

And Barry acknowledges it was a bitter-sweet afternoon at Sandy Park, especially as London Irish’s loss to Sale Sharks secured Warriors’ Premiership status.

“We were a bit disappointed that our discipline cost us at Exeter, so it was just a case of sucking it all up and letting it go,” said Barry.

“After getting a club-record four wins in a row, it would be a shame if we got complacent for the final few matches but I don’t think it will happen.

“It’s a relief we are safe but we never planned to be involved in a relegation battle.

"Everyone else thought that would be the case for us but we were confident with the squad and a mid-table finish is what we were capable of.

"We were never overly concerned at being dragged into things. Our next aim is to catch Bath and maybe overtake them.”

Barry has been a revelation for Warriors this term despite missing several weeks of the season with a nerve problem in his arm and shoulder.

He has coped with the high intensity and physical aspects of Premiership rugby and developed into a reliable line-out caller.

“It would be a shame if we finished the Premiership season with a couple of defeats when I think our efforts mean we deserve to be higher up the league than we are,” said Barry.

“We want to get a win against Wasps, finish off the season well and hopefully get a ninth-placed finish, which is what we are all looking for.”