Boss Dean Ryan is adamant that a ‘wounded’ Ospreys side will bounce back – but has urged his Dragons to ensure it is not this weekend.
Dragons welcome Ospreys to Rodney Parade in the Guinness PRO14 on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).
The Liberty Stadium region lost 44-0 to Scarlets on Boxing Day and Ryan knows Dragons would be ‘foolish’ to underestimate the work that will be going in to turn the corner.
However, he believes it is vital that his players focus on the task in hand and prepare well as they look to make an early statement in 2020.
“We’ve probably, over the last couple of years, experienced some of the pain that they are going through at the moment,” he said.
“It would be foolish of us to underestimate how hard they will be working and trying to get it right.
“The lower a side gets, in terms of confidence and results, it probably means at some stage it is going to bounce back.
“They are too good a side not to do that. We have got to make sure we don’t allow it to be this weekend. That is our challenge.
“It has been a tough derby period, but we have been competitive and we are starting to make some strides,” he added.
“Now we face a side that is probably wounded from last week, and that is a driver that we have used in the past. Suddenly it is another region that is using it.
“We recognise that this is a week when we have got to work really hard to get our preparation right.
“It’s been nice to get a couple of days off and recover. We felt the load in terms of two games, but this goes back to a normal week with preparation for Saturday.”
Watch the Dragons in the opening game of 2020 as we welcome Ospreys to Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 3pm). Click HERE to buy your tickets and join us for more top Guinness PRO14 action.
The lower a side gets, in terms of confidence and results, it probably means at some stage it is going to bounce back... They are too good a side not to do that...
