DIRECTOR of rugby Alan Solomons praised his players’ mentality after Worcester Warriors’ rip-roaring 39-17 victory over Sale Sharks at Sixways.

Sam Lewis and Chris Pennell scored two early tries before Josh Adams notched a second-half hat-trick to move Warriors seven points clear of the Gallagher Premiership’s relegation zone.

Solomons said it was all about ensuring his Warriors side went into the game with the “right frame of mind” after last Saturday’s sorry defeat at Wasps.

“We knew we had let ourselves down and played poorly against Wasps,” Solomons said.

“But right from Monday we got into the right frame of mind. We continued that during the week, practised well and everyone was focused on this game.

“I have always said that if we play to the best of our ability then we can compete against anyone in this competition.

“The lads are all good rugby players but there has just been lapses in concentration and the ball has gone astray.

“For us the emphasis in the week has been about us playing well and our performance. We believed the rest would take care of itself if we played well.

“It’s good to see. The guys have handled it well but I think focusing on our perofrmances it aids and abets that.

“We were well prepared both mentally and physically and I thought that showed in the way we played.”

Warriors burst out of the blocks with a try from Lewis inside the opening five minutes. A Duncan Weir penalty and a further score by Pennell saw Worcester open up a 17-0 lead.

Josh Beaumont went over for a converted try to close the gap to 17-7 at half-time before Weir and AJ MacGinty traded penalties at the start of the second period.

But the half belonged to Adams who became only the second Warriors player in the club’s history to score a treble in the Premiership.

After Bryce Heem saw yellow for a tip-tackle on Paolo Odogwu with 12 minutes left, Sale responded with a Matt Postlethwaite touchdown which MacGinty converted.

But Adams who had overcome a dead leg to start completed his hat-trick late on to cap a great day at the office for Warriors.

“Josh is a great finisher, there’s no question about that,” Solomons said.

“We saw that in the Six Nations. He is an absolute class player.”

With bottom club Newcastle Falcons losing 27-22 to Leicester Tigers on Friday Warriors seized their opportunity to open up a bigger gap.

But Solomons believes the relegation battle will go on “right until the end” as he looks ahead to Worcester’s final three matches.

“We will enjoy this win and then once the weekend is over we need to start preparing for Gloucester (on April 28),” Solomons added.

“They are a fantastic side and we know we are going to have a tough challenge but I think we are looking forward to that.”

Director of rugby Steve Diamond conceded Sale were "beaten by the better side" and Warriors had the edge on his team in "every area".

"We didn’t have much possession early doors," Diamond said. 

"They were really good in the first 10 or 15 miniutes and we got it back to 20-10.

"But we received the kick-off, flicked it out and we were on the losing side from then on. We had a chance up until then.

"We are inconsistent. We have had two great wins and we went to Newcastle three weeks ago and we were 13-3 up and couldn’t put them to bed.

"It does show you how strong the league as it is competitive right the way through.

"It’s a rare season as there’s no team getting a good hiding so fair play to Worcester."