WINLESS Worcester Warriors need to come out of the blocks "firing" to stand a chance of claiming the scalp of big-hitters Saracens at Sixways tomorrow (7.45pm).

Flanker David Denton insists a strong start will be crucial against the European champions as Warriors bid to get rid of their "gallant losers" tag in the Aviva Premiership.

Two tries from Perry Humphreys and a late Ryan Mills penalty saw Warriors come from 24-6 down to get within five points of Gloucester last Friday.

But Worcester, who trailed 17-0 inside the first 20 minutes, had to settle for a bonus point as the hosts clung on for a 24-19 triumph.

Having also fallen behind early on in their defeats to Newcastle Falcons, Wasps and Exeter Chiefs, Denton admitted slow starts were costing his side.

And the Scotland international said he and his team-mates were determined to be the team forcing the issue in the opening stages.

“Despite the loss (at Gloucester) we got a point and had a very good second half,” Denton said.

“But now we need to put in an 80-minute performance.

“We have started slowly in every game this season and given ourselves so much to do so we need to come out of the blocks firing against Saracens.

“Because of that second-half performance and the sort of team Saracens are they won’t underestimate us like I think a few teams would do so we have got to be prepared for a big battle.”

Warriors claimed their first point of the season in the defeat at Gloucester but are the only team not to register a victory.

“There is no doubt there is a lot of character in this team,” Denton continued.

“But we are not here to be gallant losers. We would much prefer to play badly and win.

“Unfortunately we ended up on the wrong side of the result last week so we are going to make sure we change that.”

Despite their losing streak and a string of injuries, fit-again Denton stressed there was no "doom and gloom" within the squad.

But with a trip to his former club Bath to come after facing Sarries the 27-year-old expressed the need to get off the mark before beginning their European Challenge Cup campaign in mid-October.

“We understand we have not had the start we wanted,” he added.

“We have got one point from four games and potentially we are looking at going into Europe in a similar situation which is why the Saracens game is so important.

“We can’t be going into that European break with one point so it really puts the pressure on us.

“But we have been trying to keep upbeat.

“The mistake people make is they try to solve things on their own and do things differently.

“But you don’t need to do that, you just need to stick to your structures and plan.

“We didn’t change anything (against Gloucester) as we still punted the ball 50 metres down the pitch.

“That’s how we got into the game by playing in the right areas of the field and that’s what we need to keep doing.”