Jimmy Gopperth has backed the Falcons to bounce back from Sunday's loss at Saracens, as Gloucester make the Guinness Premiership trip to Kingston Park on Wednesday.
The Cherry and Whites visit the north-east aiming to avoid a repeat of the defeat they suffered at the same venue last season, with Gopperth and his troops eager to atone for last weekend's heavy defeat at Vicarage Road.
"Looking round the changing room after the game at Saracens on Sunday, the boys were hurting badly," said the Kiwi, who remains the second-top scorer in the Guinness Premiership with 152 points in his 16 games.
"Even despite the horrible result I see it as a positive that it still means so much to the players, because if they weren't bothered and were just going about their business normally after the game then something would be badly wrong.
"My wife saw the score on the news and said she was dreading me coming home because I'd be in such a foul mood after a 58-15 scoreline. It definitely hurts to suffer a result like that, but the good thing has been that the boys seem to have bounced back, and there is that real winning buzz about the place again."
The Falcons are placed ninth in the table and in the thick of a relegation dogfight.
"The results we've had, when we look back, we should have had at least four more wins. That would have put us right up there in the table, but it's hindsight and you've just got to move on," he said.
"There's a fight going on between basically four teams to avoid relegation, and we know that we're one of that four.
"I can see both sides of it though, because I think the whole relegation thing does keep teams and players honest. It means you are accountable every single week so there are no dead rubbers, it's exciting for the fans and that pressure is always there.
"I guess it's a test of how you deal with that, but it's certainly not something we're even contemplating because we believe we have the quality to stay up and to build for next season.
"We know we're a better team than where we are right now, and we believe we have it in us to push on in these next five games."
Having kicked five from five at Saracens last weekend, Gopperth has been one of the Falcons' main men following his summer move from Super 14 side the Blues.
"I have to admit it's taken me a bit of time to get used to the way the game is played in the Guinness Premiership, but the onus is on me to learn and to grow as a player in this competition," he said.
"You've always just got to play what's around you, and for most of this season the advantage has been with the defending side at the tackle which means you don't want to get caught in possession in your own half.
"That's led to a lot of kicking and chasing, and nobody wants to be a part of that. The fans don't like it, the players don't either and thank God there has been a bit of light at the end of the tunnel with the referees starting to get the tackler away at ruck time last weekend.
"That allows more attacking rugby to be played, the players can get excited by that and the fans will hopefully feed off it as we look to play with more ball in hand. Common sense seems to have prevailed with the referees' interpretation, and I think the whole game will be the better for this bright light at the end of the tunnel."
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