SKIPPER Dave Slemen has called for a reaction from his Esher side when they take on London Welsh in Friday’s big derby showdown at Molesey Road.

Championship newcomers Esher have suffered three heavy defeats after starting the season with impressive victories over Moseley and Bristol.

And Slemen admits he was disappointed with the attitude in Friday’s 40-13 defeat at Nottingham that followed reverses against Bedford and Worcester.

Now he wants Esher to front up against the powerful Exiles, who destroyed Rotherham in a six-try demolition last weekend to climb to third in the table.

Slemen said: “We have a great rivalry with London Welsh and I am looking for a big reaction in what will be a massive game.

“I had wanted to see a reaction at Nottingham after the Worcester defeat but I didn’t see it. Now I want to see one on Friday.

“One area we certainly must improve on is our discipline. It killed us at Nottingham, where we gave away 16 penalties.

“To me, defence is all about attitude and it is not good enough. For parts it was very good at Nottingham but it’s no good being fine 80 or 90 per cent of the time and then start slipping off tackles for the rest. You just can’t switch off at this level.

“We must show more urgency and not accept being second best against any side.”

Esher scored a late try through Dave Millard at Meadow Lane but Slemen admits his Surrey side are still not showing the patience need to break down quality sides.

He added: “Our coach Mike Schmid has talked about being more patient and that’s an area we must improve on. It’s no good going through five or six phases and then throwing out a 50-50 pass.”

But Slemen insists Esher have the capability to spring a shock against a full-time Welsh side that includes former Scotland fly-half Gordon Ross and flying wings Josh Drauniniu and Paul Sampson.

He said: “We respect Welsh but we feel if we put it together we can beat any team, as we showed against Bristol.

“But we need to show that we deserve to be in this league and show we are desperate to play for each other.

“But we are all looking forward to Friday night. It’s a big test but there should be a good crowd and our expectations are high.”