DRAGONS boss Dean Ryan is set to face former club Worcester Warriors for the second week running and is determined to come out on top this time around.

Ryan tasted defeat on his return to Sixways last Saturday as Warriors ran out 34-28 winners to boost their European Challenge Cup hopes of reaching the last eight.

Having been a man down for more than an hour following Taine Basham’s red card Ryan was proud of his players efforts to gain a losing bonus point that keeps Dragons top of Pool One.

But Ryan insisted Dragons have “got to win” at Rodney Parade on Friday (8pm) as they eye a place in the knockout stages.

“We did a tremendous job to get a point at Worcester when we were down to 14 men,” Ryan said.

“Europe is not always about winning on the night, it is about winning the right pool games at the right time.

“We know that we have got to win at Rodney Parade.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position.

“We won’t let it distract from the work that still needs to go on. We have lots of challenges here, but what a great opportunity to get something going at Rodney Parade.

“If we get something on Friday, we still have Castres and Enisei in the New Year – it is not done on Friday. But it would put us in a strong position.”