Richard Hill has seen his Bristol squad decimated by injuries (Getty)

Resources are stretched at the Memorial Stadium as injuries begin to take their toll and Hill felt that proved crucial as they went down 27-0 at Gloucester.

He said: "We have to put a huge effort in to get results against teams like Gloucester and everyone has to be fully fit, really refreshed and ready to go.

"And this year it's going to be tough because we've got these Heineken Cup games as well - there's no respite."

Bristol have come through a testing phase of the season with two impressive wins in the Heineken Cup against Harlequins and a draw against Wasps.

In their previous league encounters against Wasps and Bath Hill's men had been on the back foot from the off, but at Kingsholm they held their hosts through the first quarter.

Playing into the teeth of a first-half gale their performance had plenty of determination, but it lacked bite in the final third and a series of "dull" penalties also hit their hopes as Gloucester slowly took a firm grip on proceedings.

"There were some silly tries and generally throughout the game some dull penalties conceded at the breakdown did not help," reflected Hill.

We've just got to try and keep as many fit players as we can going and cope with it Bristol head coach Richard Hill

"All round we weren't quite up to our normal standard. We've had some tough games and it might have been a game too far for us over this period."

With number eight Dan Ward-Smith and scrum-half Shaun Perry already out, Bristol's hopes were hit by further injuries following the 23-23 draw against Wasps.

England international hooker Mark Regan, prop Jason Hobson and fly-half Jason Strange all joined the walking wounded.

And while Regan was on the bench at Kingsholm, Hill only intended to use him in an "emergency".

"We're talking two or three players missing every game and after a while it's pretty tough," he said.

"You need to have a fully-fit side on the pitch if you're going to come to a place like Kingsholm and try and sneak something."

The good news for Hill is that Regan should be fit to return to the fray after sitting out training for the week.

The bad news is the fixture list. After Saracens in the Premiership come decisive Heineken Cup matches against Stade Francais and Cardiff.

"We've just got to try and keep as many fit players as we can going and cope with it," Hill concluded.