Team comes first as Sleightholme looks to add to try tally

Sleightholme has scored five of his own, while Tom Collins has six and Courtnall Skosan has four.

But Sleightholme said: "We don't look at how many we've scored because then you get the problems you get with footballers where they just want to score all the goals!

"Then you get the problem you're not scoring as many because you're trying too hard to score."

While points have often flowed for Saints this season, they were in short supply at Bath last weekend as they fell to a hugely disappointing 27-14 defeat.

It was Bath's first win of the Gallagher Premiership season, at the seventh attempt.

And for Saints it was another frustrating day in a campaign that has so far been laced with them.

"We look at the weekend just gone and it was a case of them having a plan to come hard at the breakdown and we didn't adapt well enough to that situation," Sleightholme said.

"We need to be there quicker and anticipate that. We know we can do it and it's not something new to us.

"There are loads of different things we can do in terms of trying to stay on your feet for as long as possible so the clear-out is there.

"We've got to win the battle through the breakdown."

Bath's continual ability to snuff Saints out meant they left The Rec with nothing despite having a massive 71 per cent of the territory.

And everyone of a black, green and gold persuasion will know that sort of profligacy can't be repeated when Bristol Bears come calling at the Gardens on Saturday.

"It's another team who like to play," Sleightholme said. "It can play into our hands or out of them depending on how we go about it.

"We're definitely not where we want to be but the good thing is that we've still won games and taken five points from them whereas a couple of years we wouldn't have.

"It is annoying because there are certain bits that aren't going to plan and we know we can do them a lot better.

"Last weekend was a slip-up and we want to kick on from that now.

"We need to do what we do really well and put it on the pitch for everyone to see."

Sleightholme will be seeking another try, having scored five in just seven appearances this season

It is in stark contrast to the previous campaign, when he didn’t score at all in 15 games.

"A lot of last year I had injuries and stuff like that, but it was probably a lapse in form, I guess,” the 22-year-old said.

"It was probably a lapse in confidence and that translates to the pitch and how you perform.

"But this year I feel like I've got that confidence back and feel back on top of it.

"A lot of the time, it's a team try, it's not an individual thing. You end up on the end of it.

"You look at certain players and they'll do stuff that allows tries to be scored but they don't score the try so it doesn't matter not scoring, but obviously it is nice to be back on the scoreboard.”