Bryan Redpath has claimed his side must up their intensity © www.markwilliamsonphotography.com

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Players/Officials: Bryan Redpath

Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership

Teams: England | Sale Sharks

Sale Sharks boss Bryan Redpath has sounded a pre-season warning shot to his more established players saying that they must raise their game if they are to remain part of his plans.

Sale have failed to hit the same heights in recent years that they experienced back in 2006 when they lifted the Premiership title and Redpath is hoping to bring the glory days back to the Salford side. They have qualified for this season's Heineken Cup and Redpath claims that this must be treated as the basic standard requirement for the club moving forward.

With Sale bringing in the likes of Danny Cipriani and Richie Gray, they have some exciting new talent at their disposal but Redpath insists that those who have walked into the side in the past must now bring a higher level of intensity to their outlook if they are to continue making the XV.

"In 2006 they won the Premiership and they've underachieved since then," Redpath told The Rugby Paper. "Players who have been here in the past haven't achieved. They've underachieved, and I'm not talking about the youth that are coming through.

"Some of the senior players underachieved and they need to buck up their ideas to stay in the top four or the top six of the Premiership. From my experiences of being there with Gloucester, that's a very hard place to stay.

"The big part is the hard work attached to that and they need to sacrifice more than they have sacrificed before. We need to make sure we understand the hard work that was put into last year to get where we are and we have to make sure we stay in there and work hard again and not slack on the standards they set last year.

"The key thing is that we understand that it is going to take another level of hard work and commitment and dedication to do that. We're bringing in some better quality which means everyone must raise their standards."