New Gloucester forwards coach Brett Deacon says he has endeavoured to make the side “tougher” and “harder” following a successful start to the season.

Gloucester are topping the early-season Prem table having claimed a maximum of 10 points from their two games.

They thumped Harlequins 48-0 at the weekend after beginning the campaign with a 45-24 victory at Exeter.

Deacon, who joined Gloucester in April from Leicester Tigers, is now preparing to return to his former club on Friday to compete for the Slater Cup.

“I’ve been at Leicester for a long time and that club has been renowned for the physicality and the honest part of the game,” the 44-year-old told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

“When I signed here last year, I had a close eye on what they look like in games and I thought a lot of things need to change. They need to be tougher, harder.”

Deacon also credited “simplicity” as a reason the side had looked so strong across their opening two games.

“I think we’ve gone after really simple things,” he added.

“The classic sayings around hard work and those things – but that’s what we have done. We’ve focused on the fundamentals of the game.

“We’ve set a really high standard.”

Gloucester finished eighth in the Prem table last season, but they were productive in their summer recruitment, bringing in Wales pair flanker Jac Morgan and hooker Dewi Lake, the side’s new captain, as well as World Cup winning Springbok Jean Kleyn.

And there is still “lots to come” from the evolving side, according to Deacon.

“We’ve been very conscious of the start and how that’s looked but when we’ve reviewed the game, there’s so much to improve on,” he added.

“It’s important to improve because if you stand still, especially in this league, it’s a brutal league, you’ll end up on a losing streak rather than a winning streak.”