HEAD coach Jon Callard was pleased to get back to winning ways with a hard fought 34-32 win over Sale.

"It was important to get a win,'' he said. "It's a difficult period of time for us, especially with the internationals upon us.''

After going so long without a try, Bath looked more dangerous in attack and three scores perhaps take some of the pressure that was building off of Callard.

He said: "We snuck a try early today and that gave us a lift.

"There's a lot of pressure on me at the moment. I put myself under an enormous amount, but you have to work hard to get what you want and I'll do that as far as coaching is concerned. I'm very committed.''

The pressure on Callard had also filtered into some supporter discontentment which the club responded to in a positive manner by arranging a get-together with the fans on Friday evening in the club house at The Recreation Ground.

"We had a very good and productive meeting with the supporters club to explain what we're doing and where we're going'' Callard said.

"After Munster, the fans felt that they weren't being appreciated by the players. We needed to redress that and we did.''

Callard added that he hoped that these fans' forums can become a regular occurrence in the future.

Callard won't get carried away despite the return to form.

He said: "We've got a long way to go but today was a big step. The players showed great passion. It's a start but not an end product.''

Try-scoring prop John Mallett was delighted to get on the scoresheet. "It's been a long time, I can't remember the last one'' he said.

Mallett was one of the elder statesmen in a young line up and the youngsters impressed the burly tight-head.

He said: "These guys are fantastic, they're great to play with and are going to go far.''