Worcester Warriors: Boss Steve Diamond has shaped 'better environment', says Billy Searle
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Billy Searle landed six successful kicks for an individual 14-point haul in Saturday's 39-5 win over Newcastle
Worcester Warriors stand-off Billy Searle hopes the Premiership club's immediate future can be sorted out, so that they can build on the positive impact made by boss Steve Diamond.
Warriors, a day away from an expected suspension by the Rugby Football Union, face the prospect of Saturday's game with Newcastle having been their last.
But Searle sees the 39-5 win as setting a new quality benchmark going forward.
"'Dimes' has come in and got a real group together," Searle told BBC Sport.
"It's a different group now, a different place. The whole environment is better.
"I've really enjoyed my time here, especially since Steve came in. Hopefully things can get sorted out and we can still do something here as a group."
The ongoing Worcester saga
Players voted to face Newcastle
Diamond's words last week, said publicly through the media to the players, fellow club employees, fans and the wider English rugby community, were so powerful that no pre-match team talk was necessary.
They might not have been so widely heard at all had Warriors not been able to perform the club's media duties properly - and that was done only as a favour to club staff by Kidderminster Harriers owner Richard Lane, also the owner of Worcester's IT service provider, the EBC Group, who allowed the wi-fi to be switched back on at Sixways.
Worcester's victory over Newcastle was the club's biggest in four years
Former Sale boss Diamond's inspired side responded with their biggest win since beating Bristol 52-7 at Sixways in October 2018 - which is their record victory in their 18 years since becoming a Premiership club.
The game was only staged, for the second weekend running, by staff giving up their time for free, to ensure the club met with Premiership ground safety protocol.
Even then Warriors director of rugby Diamond still gave his players the option of not playing. Any potential long-term injury could have had a lasting impact, if the club are now put in administration and players' contracts are put at risk. But it was a near unanimous dressing room decision to go ahead and play.
'It could have been our last game'
"It was 90% [in favour of playing]," said Searle. "That's pretty good considering what's been going on behind the scenes but we just wanted to perform as a group.
"It could have been our last game so we wanted to put it all out there.
Worcester Warriors were again limited to a crowd of 4,999 in their East Stand for the second weekend running
"There are things that we can do nothing about but we owed it to the community, to the fans and to the people who work here.
"The atmosphere was unbelievable. There were only 5,000 here but it sounded a lot more. And I want to be out there again in the future putting in performances like that every week.
"Our forwards fronted up, we kept them out and then the tries came at the end.
"There was no pressure on us. It was just a case of 'let's go out and enjoy it and stick to what we do well'."
So what happens now?
If Worcester do not pay their insurance premiums by 17:00 BST on Monday, then the ground will be closed.
The players will have to train on local pitches and their ground caretaker, Lee Morrow and his wife, will have to be temporarily evicted from the flat they live in above the West Stand.
If the club are not saved by any last-minute major financial intervention, and they do go into administration - as Midlands rivals Wasps have said they also intend to do - the guidance from the rugby authorities is that they would receive a 35-point penalty, rather than relegation.
Beyond that, other than knowing that two separate investors are ready to take over once any administration process is complete, and given the continued silence from co-owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring over the past week, Diamond admits that he has very little idea how things will pan out.
Steve Diamond first arrived at Sixways in November 2021, initially as consultant, before taking over first team duties in January, then becoming director of rugby this summer
"There's no plan now," he said. "The building isn't insured from Monday so we are not allowed to train, use the gym or the rest of the facilities.
"The caretaker and his wife are being chucked out as residents on the site.
"When it goes into administration, or if it goes into administration, because that's the rumour on the street, no doubt the relevant parties will contact the directors and they can make the decision.
"But the staff here are all volunteering because they are not getting paid. That shows we have a really passionate workforce who care about their jobs and who care about Worcester. That's what I would be looking at if I was an investor."
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