“It has been a very difficult week with the two defeats, in the cup final and against Bath, everybody was nervous and we knew we were looking for good results,” said Loffreda after seeing his team register five tries in a 32-14 victory at Welford Road.
“We are happy to win and produce a better performance, but we will not forget that it is the first step. We have two more steps and it is very important to try to finish in the top four.
“The players played with a lot of commitment, they worked very hard, they kept going when they got close to the Bristol line and they also worked hard in defence.
“It was very important for all the club, all the players, to play with a performance like that. We knew we could come back from the disappointment of those defeats.”
Loffreda reserved special praise for the back row of Tom Croft, Ben Herring and Jordan Crane, with openside Herring joining Aaron Mauger and Tom Varndell on the scoresheet in the first half. Andy Goode added another touchdown after a penalty try had gained the bonus point in the 57th minute.
“Everybody has to do his job and the back row did very well,” said Loffreda. “That was maybe the key to how we could play this game.”
The victory moved Tigers back into the top four briefly on Saturday before being leapfrogged by Sale Sharks and London Wasps who both won on Sunday.
There are no Premiership fixtures this weekend, but Tigers return to action with a trip to Newcastle on Sunday, May 4 and then host play-off hopefuls Harlequins at Welford Road on Saturday, May 10.
