Dai Young calls for calm as London Wasps fight for their lives
London Wasps director of rugby Dai Young has urged fans not to panic despite the club's position near the foot of the table
Just 10 points separate Wasps from bottom club Newcastle midway through a miserable campaign that has seen them lose eight out of 12 games.
The retirements of England stars Joe Worsley and Steve Thompson and Simon Shaw's departure to Toulon have hampered Young's planning, while a lack of funds mean he is unable to recruit top-class players. Last weekend's 6-0 home defeat by Worcester provided yet another low for longsuffering Wasps fans but Young has called for calm as his side travel to Welford Road tomorrow to face Leicester.
He said: "There is no point panicking. We're in a dogfight with other teams and we're not in a better or worse situation than them. The first thing you want to do is make sure you're not in relegation trouble. Then you can start looking at the top four.
"But I don't think we've ever been far enough away from the bottom couple of spots to not worry about it. There are other teams that feel the same. We're all scrapping for our lives. When I came here last summer I didn't expect this to be an easy season. There isn't a quick fix."
Meanwhile, London Irish three-quarter Steven Shingler has had his eligibility to play for Scotland questioned just hours after being included in Andy Robinson's squad for the Six Nations.
The 20-year-old Swansea-born fly-half or centre was one of six uncapped players named in the 36-man party as preparations for the February 4 clash with England at Murrayfield began in earnest.
Robinson believes Shingler qualifies as a result of his Dumfries-born grandmother but the WRU argue he is ineligible after playing for Wales Under-20s in the 2011 Six Nations.
A statement from the Welsh Rugby Union read: "All the players who represented Wales against France at U20 level in 2011 were informed they would then become Wales-qualified players only at senior level."
Shingler insists he "declined to sign a declaration".
