Gloucester hurting as they get set to host Saints

The Cherry and Whites will be desperate to bounce back after suffering three consecutive Gallagher Premiership defeats.

Sale, Newcastle Falcons and Harlequins all beat Gloucester in November.

But Skivington's men are now ready to turn the page as they head into December.

And the head coach told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "We are disappointed, there is a lot of hurt in the camp right now.

"This autumn period hasn't been very kind to us but there's reasons for that.

"I think the best thing you can do is be honest as a group, review the game very honestly, make sure everybody understands what happens in the Premiership if you lose a couple of games and the context around that.

"But then you've got to move on roll your sleeves up and try and be better at what you've got to improve on."

Gloucester had gone unbeaten in October before things took a turn for the worse during the month that followed.

"I'm not concerned by any lack of motivation or anything like that," Skivington said.

"It's more the reality of you've got to address the issues and we've had a few similar issues three games on the trot now and that's got to change."

Gloucester, like all Premiership sides, were without several key players during November due to autumn international fixtures.

And Skivington feels the players who stepped in have been on a steep learning curve.

"I don't think it's complacency, certainly some younger players have learnt some serious lessons over this autumn period that's for sure, we can't get away from that," he said.

"Good and bad lessons, they've all fought unbelievably hard but possibly the shock of the intensity of the Premiership has caught us a little bit.

"I think there's some poor mistakes and some poor execution early in our game plan and that's something we are very honest about as a group."

Gloucester will remain without fly-half Adam Hastings against Saints after he sustained a knee injury on international duty with Scotland.

However they have been handed a boost after winger Louis Rees-Zammit was helped off the pitch with an injury in the closing moments of the defeat at Harlequins last weekend.

"Hasto is coming along, he's not quite there yet," Skivington said.

"Thankfully Zam's bang wasn't as bad as we thought it was on the day."