BATH second row Elliott Stooke believes his side have shown already this term that they can be the best team in the Aviva Premiership despite stumbling of late in their race to the title.

The 23-year-old admitted that their last-gasp defeat to Exeter Chiefs, who turned the tables having suffered last-minute heartache in the reverse fixture at Sandy Park, put a dampener on the new year celebrations.

However, having created enough chances to win the game against a fellow contender for the league crown, Stooke believes they do not need to change much to remain in the title hunt.

“We’re all pretty gutted, it was a bit of a downer on New Year’s Eve,” he said.

“We’ve already looked at it in training and have tried to underline where we went wrong and what we can do better for this week coming.

“We assessed a few opportunities that we left out on the field and the way we can do better in that respect.

“From a forward’s point of view, it was probably our attacking in the last part of the field where we should have converted a few more points.

“It’s literally just a few tweaks here and there. Obviously, every team has their structure that they like to stick to and we generally stick to it quite well.

“It’s just a few tweaks and a few calls we need to change here and there. So from that respect, nothing much has changed.

“We’re a top side and we know that when we play to our best, no team can handle us.

“We have proved that this year in terms of beating Sarries at home, Saints away at the beginning of the year - on our day, we are probably the best team in the league.

“We just need to find that consistency and stick to what we are good at.”

Bath travel to Kingston Park this evening to face eighth-placed Newcastle Falcons, who are one of three Premiership sides who play on an artificial surface.

While the 3G pitches are becoming more popular, Stooke admits that it is still an aspect of the encounter they must adapt to and is expecting a fast-flowing game as a result.

“Obviously Newcastle pose a little bit of a different threat,” he added.

“They have got a different sort of pitch, the weather is always a little bit funny up there and, at the moment, they’re playing quite an expansive brand of rugby.”

“In terms of defending it, it’s not very nice but it is obviously a bit different and on a 3G pitch it is going to be quick and it is going to be fast.

“I know there are more 3G pitches being introduced because of the style of rugby teams want to play so it is getting more and more common but I wouldn’t say I was used to playing on one.”