Thompson has been Falcons chairman for more than 10 years

Newcastle Falcons chairman Dave Thompson believes his side will improve on their current lowly league position.

Falcons host fellow strugglers Leeds at Kingston Park on Monday and Thompson says they can take heart from their opponents' experiences last season.

"Leeds were dead and buried this time last year, and look who was relegated - Worcester," he told BBC Newcastle.

"We've missed established players who are slowly getting back. I'm not happy but we'll improve. It's a long season."

He added: "We're quite a young side and we're learning.

"This is an important game but the most important game of the season is the one that decides whether you go up or down, or win the Championship or come second, and we're not in that situation yet," Thompson said.

"We're not even halfway through the season. It's important but not the be-all-and-end-all.

"Unfortunately we've been [in a relegation battle] before. I don't want to be there again."

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