Bates is uncertain about his future at Kingston Park

Newcastle Falcons interim coach Steve Bates admitted his relief after their season came to an end with a 51-10 defeat at Worcester on Saturday.

"The good thing about the game is that everything starts afresh in the new season," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"We've learned a lot of lessons this year and we have an opportunity to bring in some different players.

"We need to look very carefully at how we play the game. It's a disappointing day at the end of a hard season."

Bates only took charge of the Falcons with safety secured due to the early relegation of Leeds Carnegie.

The former Borders coach has won just one Premiership match since taking the reins but believes the circumstances have affected the mentality of his squad.

"If we were fighting relegation then we might have looked at this game a bit differently," he said.

"We knew Leeds were going down a long time ago and that has affected the teams we've picked and the way we've played so that's not an issue."