Exeter 'progressing' in quest to solve poor form

Exeter will hope to take heart from emphatic wins in the first two rounds of the Premiership Rugby Cup

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says his team are "progressing" as he aims to turn around their poor form this season.

The Chiefs lost a club-record six successive Premiership matches before the international break.

Since then, they have parted ways with defence coach Omar Mouneimne but beaten Championship sides Cornish Pirates and Hartpury in the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Exeter face their sternest cup test so far on Friday night when they visit Gloucester at Kingsholm.

"We have to look like a team that's on the front foot and moving forward, that's the single most important thing," Baxter told BBC Sport.

"We have to keep the lads confident in that - that we're moving forward, being progressive and we're going to come through this, and that's the way I'm approaching it.

"I'm not approaching it like 'this is a must-win game, this is a must-win game'.

"We can't just stagger from must-win game to must-win game, we've got to try and get on that upward slope of where we feel like we're moving forwards and that we will get where we need to be.

"I feel like we're on that, and I've got to try to work very hard to maintain that and keep that feeling that we're progressing."

Baxter picked strong sides against two second-tier opponents in the cup, but they were rewarded with big wins - a 68-7 victory at Cornish Pirates before beating Hartpury 54-3 at Sandy Park.

Baxter hopes those victories, even against sides in the division below, will boost his side's confidence.

"More than anything it creates a feelgood factor, and when you start to win and start to feel good about things, that can create that little bit of energy, that little bit of belief in coming through tough scenarios," he added.

"We have tried to declutter things a bit for the players, trying to align everything we're doing, everything to feel as common sense as possible, everything to feel like we're trying to make the best of their strengths so they can express their individual strength and individual abilities within our systems.

"We're just going to push that for as long and as hard as we can, and I think that's the way we can help the lads feel good about themselves and feel good about where we're heading as a team."