Mark Regan hopes Bristol can rely on the old intimidating atmosphere at the Memorial Stadium when second placed London Irish visit Horfield in the Guinness Premiership tomorrow.

Bristol may have won the 'European City of the Year' title but Regan believes teams such as London Irish, who enjoy the fancy surrounds of the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the high life in Sunbury, can often be intimidated by the slightly less glorious facilities of the Memorial Stadium.

During 2008 Bristol have lost 10 time at home but veteran Regan is keen to turn the Memorial Stadium back into a fortress.

The former England and British Lions hooker said: "London Irish are flying high in second place and we need a cracking performance and a loud Bristol crowd to overcome them.

"No-one likes coming down here It's not exactly like London. There are not many nice buildings.

"It's a hard, hard place to come and play and we've got to make it a hostile environment."

He added: "There's a lot of guys here who have been battling all their lives at the bottom of the table.

"I know it's hard work here. We don't have the funding as other clubs do, that's why we're looking for more.

"But we're a fighting bunch of lads and we don't like losing full stop."

The hooker, who will represent the Barbarians against Australia at Wembley on Wednesday, revealed the feeling in the camp is good despite their battering last week against Gloucester.

Regan aptly described that defeat as "a good shoeing".

The Kingsholm side won 39-10 but Regan is confident his club colleagues can return to winning ways against Irish.

"We've put a lot of wrongs right in training this week," said the 36-year-old front rower.

"We've had a nine-day turnaround which means there will be a lot more fresher legs and fresher players on the park and we're all looking forward to this weekend.

"We can't hang around on the fact we were hammered away to Gloucester."

Regan scored a try in the 2005-06 encounter between these sides at the Memorial Stadium, but the first-half lead he helped to engineer slipped away and the Exiles edged home 21-20.

He is expecting another close-fought match, not least because of Bristol's predicament.

"It's another game we desperately need to win," he said.

"Obviously the table doesn't lie, the stats don't lie. But it is a very tight Premiership at the moment."

Bristol felt hard done by for Gloucester's first try in the defeat at Kingsholm when referee Andrew Small appeared to miss a forward pass before Olly Morgan touched down. Luck though is not something Regan sets much store by.

"You generate your own luck," he said.

"And that's by performing well. We got the rub of the green last time we played at home against Northampton.

"We were six points down with five minutes to go, came back and won the game 14-13. That gives the team belief." Head coach Richard Hill has dropped full-back Luke Arscott and brought in wing Lee Robinson for his maiden Premiership start this season. Samoa wing David Lemi wears the No 15 shirt for the first time in his Bristol career.

Youngster Luke Eves – match-winner against Northampton a fortnight ago – also starts a league game for the first time this season.

Hill has decided to switch his half-backs with England scrum-half Shaun Perry and Ed Barnes, who is one of the club's in-form backs this season, starting in place of Graeme Beveridge and summer signing from Harlequins, Adrian Jarvis.

Bristol keep faith with the same pack that started the West Country derby clash at Kingsholm.

On the bench, flanker Redford Pennycook replaces Iain Grieve who is waiting on a scan on the shoulder injury suffered against Gloucester.

Bristol: D Lemi; L Robinson, N Brew, L Eves, T Arscott; E Barnes, S Perry; A Clarke, M Regan, D Crompton, R Winters, R Sidoli, A To'oala, J El Abd (capt), D Ward-Smith. Reps: S Linklater, P Bracken, M Sambucetti, R Pennycook, G Beveridge, A Jarvis, L Arscott.