Paul Hull has urged patience as Bristol get to grips with life in the Championship.

Bristol, relegated from the Guinness Premiership at the end of last season, got their new campaign off to a winning, if somewhat unconvincing start, last weekend.

They came from 23-17 down, with eight minutes to go, to beat London Welsh 28-23 at the Memorial Stadium, but were disjointed for long periods of the match.

And head coach Hull said his team cannot play attractive rugby before they have asserted their authority on matches.

"We want to play attractive rugby, but we want to win as well – and there's a balance," said Hull, whose side are at Birmingham & Solihull tomorrow.

"It's all about getting that balance right. Until you've got a bit of a cushion, you have to play winning rugby. And I'm sure the supporters would want to see that first and the rest later."

Birmingham & Solihull are marketing tomorrow's clash at Sharmans Cross Road as 'underdogs vs top dogs' – and the tag of favourites is one Bristol are going to have to get used to.

"This next game is another tough, tough test," said Hull. "It's our first away game in this league and I'm sure we'll get a warm welcome.

"But that's the beauty of rugby – I've never been to Birmingham & Solihull, so it will be new to me, and I'm looking forward to it.

"We know it's going to be a tough fixture and we have to be mentally strong."

Bristol, who are without injured fly-half Ed Barnes (Achilles), will also be without Chris Ashwin, who has a shoulder injury.

Adrian Jarvis is likely to start in the No 10 shirt, with Mark Davies on the bench.