'GIVE me an extra one per cent,' is the rallying cry from Gloucester Rugby boss Nigel Davies to his players during their arduous pre-season training period.
The rugby director is asking each of his players to step up and be counted this season, as the Cherry and Whites push on to improve on last season's fifth-place finish.
Davies said pre-season training would be different this term and warned his players it would be tough.
He said: "It's going to be hard, physically mentally, technically and tactically.
"It has to be, to step up a couple of notches.
"Last year was about stabilising the ship after a lot of change and to that extent we achieved that.
"But this year we want to push on again and ask a little bit more of ourselves.
"If we can get an extra one per cent out of each player, that will be huge for the team.
"We work in an environment where we are talking small margins, so we are definitely looking for improvement from each player." Davies said pre-season was planned at the end of last season, based on a review of the performances throughout the year.
The Welshman could use information gathered during the year to create a tailored training period, rather than the 'generic' pre-season of the 2011/12 season.
He said: "I came in a week before pre-season so it was pretty generic.
"I didn't know the strengths and weaknesses of the players in the team, and we were all going into the unknown a bit, after a poor season, but we've had a year's worth of information now. We reviewed what we were good at, what we weren't so good at, where we need to change things slightly, and the condition the players need to be in.
"Plans have been put in place. There is a clear pathway in place and the players know what is coming.
"They now need to adapt, not to worry about what is front of them, and just deal with it."
Davies said that pre-season will target different areas of Gloucester's game, as well as developing core skills in more detail.
Now, he said, it is about drilling down and delivering more consistently.
He said: "The big factor for us is discipline.
"Not just in giving stupid penalties away or being offside in the ruck, which were probably the biggest factors that affected us last season, but in the players' thought processes, decision making and technique.
"We need to be very disciplined in our decision making when we arrive at contact.
"As much as they are technical aspects of the game, there's a discipline element as well."
