TONY Hanks has admitted that if Wasps don’t make the play-offs they will only have themselves to blame.

They go to Worcester tomorrow in sparkling form, but with ground still to make up over the final three matches.

While they have beaten every team from first to eighth, it is their record against the bottom three teams that could haunt them – and Hanks knows it.

He said: “I worked out that our record against the bottom three teams is two from five.

“But we’ll forget all that at Worcester. It’s about this week and if we can keep winning and win our next three those results won’t mean very much.

“But if we don’t make the top four then all of sudden everyone starts to look at this result and that result.”

Tomorrow is Wasps’ fourth game against a team placed bottom. They have lost the other three and their record at Worcester is not heartening either.

Neither Hanks or head coach Shaun Edwards, who has been at Wasps ten years, has ever won there.

Hanks said: “My first experience was when we played them in a pre-season game. They were in the Championship then and still lost.

“It’s just one of those records but you’ve got to look at it as a positive.

“This team wants to achieve it’s own history and legacy and being the first Wasps team to win at Worcester would be a nice part to add to it.”

Wasps’ poor record at Sixways is slightly misleading though. Every other season they have gone to Sixways during an international period with half their team missing.

They are at full fettle now.

Hanks said: “We’ve always known that we can play rugby. We started the season pretty well and even through January we still played some pretty good rugby at times.

“We know we’re capable, but at this time of year it’s just making sure that when you get chances you take them.”

They did that in Sunday’s 42-26 Amlin Challenge Cup victory over Gloucester, with five tries including a Tom Varndell hat-trick.

Hanks said: “We’ve taken a lot of confidence out of the last three weeks, but like any Wasps team we’re looking at what we can improve and making sure we get that consistency for 80 minutes.

“I got a few sideways looks at the weekend because I didn’t think we played particularly well.

“I thought we scored some really good tries, I thought some of our finishing was outstanding and our off-loading and short game between the tight five is coming on.

“But defensively I wouldn’t say that was text book. We were sloppy at times.”

With three points to make up on London Irish in the final three games, or seven on Saracens, Wasps are clearly raising their expectations acutely.

Hanks said: “We’re still in knock-out rugby. Worcester is huge for us and we need to win.”