BRINGING in more “power athletes” is the biggest challenge facing Worcester Warriors, insists director of rugby Dean Ryan.

Warriors slumped to a 43-19 defeat against European Champions Cup finalists Saracens in their last match on grass at Sixways.

Warriors were without skipper Gerrit-Jan van Velze (concussion), lock Tevita Cavubati (hamstring) and Darren Barry, who had an operation on his shoulder.

The defending Aviva Premiership champions exposed 10th-placed Warriors’ defensive frailties and some poor tactical kicking to rack up six tries.

Ryan said: “We looked like we struggled with power and seemed to be out on our feet, while Saracens looked like they could go through the gears.

“The next challenge for us is not running around all summer, it’s about bringing in more power athletes. It’s about bringing in more people who can change things.

“We saw the impact Francois Hougaard had on us across February and March. We never lost sight of the problems but sometimes they are put back in focus when you play a side as good as Saracens.”

Powerhouse centre Ben Te’o is arriving at Warriors in the summer after an outstanding season with Irish outfit Leinster and could address some of Ryan’s concerns.

Saracens full-back Alex Goode thrived off some loose kicks from stand-in scrum-half Luke Baldwin and fly-half Tom Heathcote.

And, with rumours of Warriors and Bristol leading the chase for unsettled Bath fly-half Rhys Priestland, there could be some moves to shore up the problem.

“The game highlighted some of the issues we’ve always had and we covered them up by having Francois in,” said Ryan.

“We struggled to get out of key areas of the field and Saracens scored off the back of them.

“We’ve known about it before and it came back a bit as it always would against this side.

“We have to recognise where we are. People have to keep practising and if people can’t come to terms with it or solve the problem then we look at developing somebody else.

“We’ve done that across the group and can see the difference when we get in quality players.”

Warriors will be playing on an artificial surface at Sixways next season and Ryan believes they must start challenging the cluster of clubs above them.

He says Worcester must make progress and not just “sit in the strugglers’ position every year”.

“We never set targets but we always want to improve,” said Ryan. “We have got to start to challenge the group (of clubs) that sit above us.

“We can’t sit in the strugglers’ position every year.

“We have got to break that and were frustrated we didn’t do it earlier this season with some results prior to Christmas. But that’s the challenge for this group.

“We are on an upward trajectory but we have had a reminder of how far our journey has still got to go.”