James Merriman says promotion-chasing Bristol Rugby must be more consistent in the second half of the Championship season if they are to realise their ambitions.

Tomorrow's home clash with Nottingham marks the halfway point in the 22-game regular Championship season, with the East Midlanders the only team in the division Bristol are yet to face.

And after defeats against Exeter and Doncaster, unconvincing victories over London Welsh, Birmingham & Solihull, Bedford and Moseley, and more impressive wins against Rotherham, Cornish Pirates, Coventry and Plymouth, flanker Merriman knows his side must step it up.

He said: "After we lost at Doncaster, we said to ourselves that we had to learn our lessons from that – and I think we have. We've kicked on and progressed well in the last two games. We need to be more consistent, though. We don't want to be up one week, down the next.

"We need to put a good performance in on Sunday to wrap up the first 11 games – and then really kick on in the second half of the season."

Bristol Rugby trail unbeaten Championship leaders Exeter by seven points after 10 matches – but Merriman is unconcerned by the deficit.

And he believes the hurt Bristol suffered in defeats against Exeter and Doncaster can be used as a spur when it comes to the race for promotion to the Guinness Premiership.

"Exeter are obviously going to be very confident, but we've had the hurt of two losses and we don't want to go through any more of those this season," said the openside.

"We've also learnt some harsh lessons and I think it's better to do it now than later on in the season. I think we've shown in the last two games that we've benefited from those lessons."

In those last two matches, Bristol have beaten Coventry 46-28 and Plymouth 33-8, scoring 13 tries in the process. And Merriman is happy with the progress his side have made in the past fortnight.

"We were conceding a lot of turnovers and making silly errors, but we've tightened up in the last couple of weeks and prepared better individually," said the Welshman.

"Our attitude going into games has also been better and we've kept things a bit more simple. It takes time to get links and bonds going, but we're 10 games down the line now, so I think everyone's got a good understanding of each other and it's starting to show on the field.

"I've got to know all the boys really well and the team spirit here is fantastic – it's one of the closest teams I've been involved with. Everyone has got to know each other now, so hopefully we can kick on and enjoy a good season. As long we can keep the same mindset, keep preparing well for games and working hard, then hopefully we can keep getting the wins."

But the 25-year-old has urged caution ahead of tomorrow's clash with Nottingham, who have lost their last two matches after previously winning seven in a row.

"Nottingham will be on a backlash," said Merriman. "I know they've had a few dual-registration players recalled by Leicester but we're expecting a strong Nottingham team on Sunday and we can't take anyone for granted. They're a good, well-balanced counter-attacking team, so we'll need to be at the top of our game again on Sunday."

Bristol Rugby: L Arscott; T Arscott, J Adams, J Fatialofa, D Norton; A Jarvis, J Spice (capt); M Irish, D Blaney, D Crompton, N Budgett, R Winters, I Grieve, J Merriman, D Montagu. Reps: O Hayes, W Thompson, D Barry, R Pennycook, R Shaw, C Ashwin, L Eves.