SCRUM-HALF Francois Hougaard insists Worcester Warriors must show their “killer instinct” when they tackle Bristol Bears at Sixways tomorrow (3pm).

Warriors sit in 10th position, one place and two points behind promoted Bristol, after losing four of their first five Gallagher Premiership games.

With their only win being a 44-37 victory at Leicester Tigers, Hougaard reckons Worcester have been guilty of not finishing sides off when they have had them under the cosh.

But the 30-year-old insists Warriors are in a “positive” frame of mind heading into the much-anticipated clash and has urged his team-mates to let Bristol “feel the pressure”.

“It has been a bit of an up-and-down season for us so far,” Hougaard said.

“We have had a few losses and a great game against Leicester.

“Towards the end of the games we have lacked that killer instinct and sort of clocked off.

“Those are the things we are working on at the moment.”

Hougaard felt Exeter Chiefs showed his side how to put teams to the sword in their 28-11 victory over Warriors at Sandy Park last Saturday.

“If you give Exeter a sniff they are going to force their pressure down on the game and make sure they finish strongly,” Hougaard said.

“When we get into certain stages where we have got teams under the thumb we let go and let them back into the game.

“A lot of teams play off our mistakes or lapses in concentration.

“If we can control that we can keep them under pressure and make sure we finish the game strongly.”

Since gaining promotion from the Championship, Bristol have beaten Bath 17-10 and Harlequins 20-13 and gained two bonus points from a 45-40 defeat to Northampton Saints.

But Hougaard says Warriors have identified a chink in Bears’ armour and believes his side can claim an emphatic victory over their rivals.

“Everyone has been talking about Bristol,” Hougaard said.

“But we are more focusing on ourselves and what we can get better at.

“They have got some great players and done some great preparation.

“But I think there is definitely a weakness that we can exploit and if we can just stick to the way we play we can come out with a very convincing win.

“We have played some great rugby.

“It is just a case of being more consistent and producing a performance like we did against Leicester.

“We need to make sure we stamp our authority on this match rather than let them bring their game to us. We need to make them feel the pressure.

“We are at home and this is and should be a sacred place for us.”

After facing Bristol, Warriors' attention will turn to the European Challenge Cup and Premiership Cup before returning to league action on Saturday, November 17, when they visit Bath.

“The Premiership is a tough competition and we are looking to finish this block of six games on a high,” Hougaard added.

“I think a few of the guys are going to have a week or 10-day break but I am not even thinking about that as we have got a big job to do this weekend.”