DEAN RICHARDS claims his Newcastle Falcons players are benefiting from not having to look nervously over their shoulders at the Aviva Premiership relegation zone.

Falcons host Bath tomorrow night looking for a repeat of the thrilling attacking play that enabled them to claim two losing bonus points as they suffered a 34-30 defeat to league leaders Wasps in their last outing at Kingston Park.

That festive defeat left Falcons in eighth position in the table, and despite bottom club Bristol’s recent revival, they still boast a 13-point cushion to the relegation zone.

That is a considerable safety margin with ten league games to play, and having spent most of the last four or five seasons battling against the drop, Richards feels his players are making the most of being safely settled in mid-table.

“The boys are enjoying their rugby and playing a good brand,” said the Falcons director of rugby. “We didn’t quite get the tries we wanted down at Saracens on Christmas Eve, but we scored four last weekend against a good Wasps side and we’re going out there to give it a real go.

“It’s a very happy camp at the moment. To be fair, it always has been, but during the past two or three years the boys have been looking down or over their shoulders at what has been happening at the bottom of the table.

“I’ve personally never had that fear that we would finish bottom, but it’s how far up the ladder we finish. To finish 11th (last season) was disappointing from my perspective, so this year we are starting to make headway up the league.

“We’ll see where we end up, and there has never been a worry there from me. The boys are very much enjoying their rugby and it is starting to come together. They go out there to score tries, which they are starting to do now.”

Falcons have made three changes for tomorrow’s game, with fit-again flanker Will Welch returning to captain the side after recovering from a fractured cheekbone.

Canadian Evan Olmstead returns in the second row, with Dominic Waldouck slotting back in at inside-centre as Belisario Agulla shuffles to the wing to replace the injured Marcus Watson.

Newcastle Falcons: Tait, Agulla, Waldouck, Socino, Goneva, Hodgson, Takulua; Vickers, Lawson, Welsh, Green, Olmstead, M Wilson, Welch, Fonua.

Replacements: Sowrey, Harris, Ryan, Witty, Robinson, Young, Willis, Burdon.