Saracens 37 Bristol 10: Richard Hill has four weeks to lift his side for the survival clash with Newcastle – otherwise Bristol are heading for relegation.

Bristol fell seven points behind second-from-bottom Newcastle after the Falcons claimed a shock 13-10 victory over title-chasing Gloucester.

Hill must overcome two European Challenge Cup matches – away to Toulon on Friday and at home to Montpellier on Sunday week – before Bristol return to the Guinness Premiership.

Despite having parity up front in the scrum and the line-out, Hill knows where Bristol must improve. They were woeful when kicking and – not for the first time this season – ran out of ideas in the final third of the field.

Hill said: "There was endeavour and heart there but the quality was lacking again.

"Our kicking today was inept. Some of the kicking was unbelievably poor.

"It is disappointing and there is not much you can do about that when you are sat in the stand.

"Individuals are not playing particularly well. It might be a confidence thing but we have to try and find a way.

"Maybe these two games in Europe are an opportunity to get a little bit of form back.

"I have to concentrate very hard. I have to make sure the players get some form together. I will be trying everything I can."

Bristol were starring down the barrel of heavy defeat early on when they conceded two tries within the space of four minutes.

The side had done well to withstand a Saracens barrage of attacks but after eight phases, weak tackling by scrum-half Shaun Perry and hooker Scott Linklater allowed prop Matias Aguero to dive over. Glen Jackson converted.

Bristol were back under their posts on 14 minutes when a poor clearance by Perry allowed the hosts to counter-attack.

Flanker Andy Saull surprisingly got around No 8 Dan Ward-Smith and after running to the five-metre line he passed for the supporting centre Brad Barritt to score. Jackson converted.

Saracens, cocky and looking to run from deep, were punished for playing too expansive in the wrong areas. They conceded a scrum in their own 22 and after Nathan Brew and Vunga Lilo had gone close, an overlap was created for Linklater to dive over at the corner. Centre Ed Barnes added the extras.

But three minutes later, Linklater hobbled off with a pulled calf muscle that could rule him out of the Newcastle match.

Hill would have been pulling his hair out – if he had any – on 24 minutes, when David Blaney went down clutching his shoulder.

But the Irishman was able to continue after lengthy treatment and he remains the club's last surviving hooker with Mark Regan (calf) and Ryan Prosser (knee reconstruction) sidelined.

Bristol had brief spells of charges in the middle of the field but that was as good as got for the visitors. They never went close to the Saracens' try-line again.

Jackson extended the lead with three penalties, taking advantage of some poor Bristol discipline when defending.

Surprisingly, with Bristol 16 then 20 points adrift, skipper Matt Salter decided against trying to score tries from good line-out positions and allowed Barnes to kick two second-half penalties.

But Saracens remained a threat in the loose and added two more tries from line-outs.

When defending line-outs, Bristol place one of their wingers in the position normally reserved for the hooker. But with England skipper and line-out specialist Steve Borthwick in the opposition ranks, it wasn't long before the hosts spotted this Achilles heel.

On 50 minutes, Ben Skirving – who had knocked on over the line a minute earlier – caught Bristol napping on the narrow side to score following a front peel. Jackson converted.

Bristol were further handicapped after replacement hooker Blaney was sent to the sin bin for killing the ball with four minutes to go. And Saracens' ploy worked again on 77 minutes; this time Borthwick himself went around the front of the line-out to score.

Replacement fly-half Gordon Ross added the extras to condemn Bristol to another defeat.