BATH’S first team head coach Tabai Matson is setting his squad a New Year resolution to cut mistakes out of their game if they are to challenge for the Premiership title.

On Christmas Eve, in front of a crowd of almost 27,000 fans, Bath lost ground on the top two as they succumbed to a 40-26 loss against Wasps.

England’s Christian Wade crossed the whitewash three times for the hosts to secure victory for the hosts.

Ross Batty, Dave Atwood, Tom Ellis and Ben Tapuai all scored for Bath to secure a bonus point, something that could prove pivotal down the line according to Matson, but the 43-year-old knows his side must cut out the errors if they are to keep pace with leaders Saracens and Wasps.

“It is back to the drawing board a little bit for us,” he said.

“There were really good patches against Wasps that we were really pleased with but when you are playing a top two team, the consequences for little errors are catastrophic.

“We need to make sure that we are a lot more accurate and more disciplined.

“When you fast-forward to April, that bonus point could be really critical to us. There are a lot of tough games to come and every little point you can scrounge away from home is absolutely critical.”

Bath return to The Rec on Saturday to face in-form Exeter Chiefs, who have lost just one of their last seven outings and sit just a point behind Bath in fourth.

While Matson is enjoying the novelty of playing during the festive period and the unique atmosphere that provides, he knows his side must be at their best if they are to end the year on a high and is already setting his sights on 2017.

“I suppose my New Year’s resolution would be to reduce our error rate. I don’t know if that is possible, but it would be nice,” he added.

“I’m loving every week, it is amazing here and I have really enjoyed the transition to Europe.

“To play on Christmas Eve at the Ricoh in front of 27,000 people was pretty cool.

“This Saturday we are playing at The Rec on New Year’s Eve, it is pretty cool playing through this period.

“It is something that is a bit alien for us from the southern hemisphere and I think the players respond.

“Exeter are trending up, they’re playing some really good rugby and they’re really efficient in key parts of the field.

“We were lucky to sneak home in the 84th minute there last time so we have to bring our A-game again.

“If it takes 80 minutes again, I would still be happy.”