Bates was happy with the effort of his young squad

Newcastle Falcons coach Steve Bates is adamant the 53-10 defeat by Sale will not impact on the morale of the young players he fielded in Sunday's game.

"It was far from dispiriting. Those lads have not played against that quality of opposition before," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"I'm positive they'll learn from the experience and come back stronger.

"They'll know they've got to reach that sort of standard if we're to reach a top-six place next year."

Falcons are yet to win a league game under Bates, having lost the last seven Premiership games.

Friday's European Challenge Cup semi-final against Worcester is the Falcons' last hope of a place in the Heineken Cup next season.