THESE are unsettling times at Worcester Warriors.

If the club being up for sale and looking for a new director of rugby was not disconcerting enough, how about throwing their Aviva Premiership form into the equation as well.

Saturday’s 29-13 reverse at Bath extended Warriors’ losing streak to six straight matches, leaving them languishing at the foot of the table with just one point on the board.

There is no doubt Worcester were handed a tough start with last season’s top three of Wasps, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens all at home, plus trips to Newcastle Falcons, Gloucester and Bath.

But they have had their chances in those matches and continue to let them slip away in error-strewn showings.

Freddie Burns’ red card at The Rec should have been a turning point for Warriors after the Bath fly-half was dismissed for a tip tackle on Josh Adams.

But it was the home side who grabbed the only points in those final 17 minutes courtesy of Josh Lewis’ late penalty as Gary Gold’s men fluffed their lines once again.

There were at least a couple of strong performances for Worcester to shout about. Notably, lock Will Spencer proved hard to stop with his powerful ball-carrying while young fly-half Jamie Shillcock showed moments of class.

Shillcock was given the nod ahead of new arrival Jono Lance and missed his chance at goal, shooting wide from the tee.

Bath then opened the scoring on nine minutes when Ben Tapuai fed Jonathan Joseph who did brilliantly to fight off two tacklers to dot down in the corner. Burns added the extras.

But Warriors responded well with Shillcock firing over his next penalty kick.

Worcester had Bath pinned in their own half and got their reward on 22 minutes. A well-executed move resulted in Shillcock releasing Hammond for a fine try. Shillcock failed to convert.

The hosts always looked threatening with ball in hand and for large parts of the first period Warriors kept them out.

But after mounting heavy pressure on their opponent’s line, Aled Brew squeezed over in the corner, which Burns failed to improve.

Burns’ opposite number was also having a mixed afternoon as Shillcock pulled off a stunning try-saving try to deny Tapuai.

But with seconds remaining in the first half, a lapse in concentration from the fly-half allowed Zach Mercer to break through and set up Tapuai. Burns converted his try to give Bath a 19-13 lead.

Despite the sucker punch, Worcester came out firing for the second period and soon closed the gap.

Shillcock started and finished a clever move with a neat offload followed by a clinical dart over the try-line. He was unable to convert, though, as Bath held a four-point cushion.

Warriors were then on the back foot for a long spell and the pressure finally told on the hour mark when Brew gathered Burns’ long pass and dotted down.

Burns converted it, but he turned villain three minutes later. Referee Luke Pearce sent off the former Leicester Tigers man for a dangerous tackle on Adams.

Bath suffered a further blow when Tapuai, who ran the show for the hosts, had to be carried off on a stretcher.

But while Warriors spurned their two opportunities to score with Ben Te’o making errors on both occasions late on Lewis made no mistakes with his penalty to seal maximum points.