Bates believes Falcons are showing signs of progress

Newcastle Falcons interim coach Steve Bates has quelled rumours that his job has been under threat following the win against Leicester on Sunday.

The 28-25 victory ended a run of seven Premiership games without a win and the former Wasps coach was keen to dispel speculation surrounding his future.

"I wasn't aware of any pressure," Bates told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"We need to be more consistent about the way we play. We'll take a lot of heart from this and move on."

With the summer departures of England duo Toby Flood and Mathew Tait already confirmed, Bates will be keen to retain players including Jonny Wilkinson who continues to play a key role in their fortunes, as he proved against the Tigers.

"There was an unusual occurrence that Jonny [Wilkinson] missed a couple of kicks at in the first half that could have put us a long way ahead at half-time," said Bates.

"But again he was outstanding in his defensive work and his contribution was immense. The boys deserve to be very proud of themselves."