Exeter must not let season 'ebb away', says Baxter

Exeter's players were left to rue mistakes in their loss at home to Bath

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says it is important his side do not let their season "ebb away" after losing at home to Bath.

The Chiefs' 26-14 loss at Sandy Park saw the Devon side drop to seventh in the Premiership, five points off a play-off place.

It comes after Baxter's inexperienced side were beaten by Toulouse in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup last week.

"What you've got to be careful of is that the season doesn't ebb away from us and we end up scratching around trying to get into Europe," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

"We've got to lock ourselves down and perform well - like everything else that's just something you've got to do."

Exeter face a trip to Gloucester next week before a final home game of the regular season against play-off chasing Harlequins precedes a visit to Leicester on the final day.

"I don't want to limit what these lads can achieve," added the Exeter director of rugby.

"But at the same time I don't want to kill them because everyone thinks they should be winning every game that they play.

"The reality is we do have to learn lessons, a lot of those lads will have never done this and never done that kind of double-header scenario.

"Some of them will have never done a last-16, then a quarter-final, in Europe and then back into what is a crucial game in the Premiership.

"We've got a large percentage of guys here playing their first Premiership game this season, and we're expecting them now to be knocking over huge games at the end of the year.

"We need to give them some opportunities and let them grow and develop."