Defiant Mark Regan believes Bristol's current squad is better than the one that finished third in the Guinness Premiership in 2007.

And the hooker is confident his side will pull away from the bottom of the table over the coming months and secure the club's top-flight status.

Regan is set to be restored to the starting line-up for tomorrow's trip to Northampton – Bristol's fifth meeting with the Saints this season in all competitions.

He will be making his 198th Premiership appearance when he steps out at Franklin's Gardens – and his experience is telling him that Bristol have all the ingredients to get themselves out of the mire.

Three points adrift of Newcastle at the start of the year – and with 12 games to turn it around – the 36-year-old Bristolian wants the fightback to start tomorrow.

"We really are not a bad side. With the players we have got, we should not be 12th in the Premiership," he said.

"We have had a couple of bad games, and a few where we have not had the rub of the green, but we are nowhere near as bad as the Premiership table suggests.

"You have to be positive when you are in the position we are in. I would like to make it my new year's resolution not to lose another game this season, but I know that is going to be tough.

"But what I mean by saying that is that we have to believe in what we are doing. We can't worry about anyone but ourselves.

"We are a good enough team to finish in mid-table, I honestly believe that. This team now is better than the team that finished third in my eyes."

And Regan wants Bristol to get themselves out of the "us against Newcastle" psychology he feels they have become bogged down by in recent weeks.

The second-from-bottom Falcons come to the Memorial Stadium next month for what is already being billed as a relegation decider.

But Regan wants Bristol to look at the bigger picture of the whole Premiership.

"We have got trapped in a situation where we are worrying about Newcastle," he said.

"How are Newcastle doing? Who have Newcastle got this weekend? When are we playing Newcastle? We should be looking above that and worrying about Bristol.

"We can't have an attitude that almost suggests we expect to lose against the top sides because we are bottom of the league. We are better than that.

"We shouldn't be 12th in the league, so we have to ask why we are – and it is because we have been making silly mistakes. If we can cut those mistakes out then results will improve."

And Regan believes Bristol can even catch teams like tomorrow's opponents Northampton if they start cutting out the basic errors.

"Look at the table – Northampton are six points ahead of us. That's a win and a draw," said Regan. "And that is why we can't just be thinking 'it's us or Newcastle'."