Bath centre Jonathan Joseph 'excited by the challenge' of facing Leicester at Welford Road Bath had won 11 on the trot in all competitions before that loss at Northampton, with the surprise departure of director of rugby Gary Gold after nine of them not appearing to be a distraction. His shift upwards from head coach at the start of the season meant he had little on-field involvement anyway. Under new head coach Mike Ford Bath are now a very different side. They still have a formidable pack, with a potent scrummage, even without the injured tighthead prop David Wilson. Crucially, however, they are now an attacking force of considerable danger. And so they should be, with the sort of pace the likes of Joseph, Anthony Watson and Kyle Eastmond can provide. "I think there has been a shift in mindset," says Joseph, who joined from London Irish in the summer. We want to play and take on teams and attack them. There is a real backing of the boys on the field, giving them freedom to play. I think Bath over the last couple of years were potentially not playing a lot of rugby, and were concentrating on their kicking game, but this year we have really concentrated on backing our skills. The individual talent here is massive. You've got George Ford, who is controlling the game, and then out wide you've got the likes of Anthony (Watson), Kyle (Eastmond), there are so many I could list. It is an exciting time. Indeed, coach Ford's son, George, has been hugely influential at fly half. He joined from Leicester in the close season, so this is bound to be a tricky afternoon for him, although he did kick 17 points when Bath beat a weakened Leicester 27-20 at the Recreation Ground in September. Joseph scored an interception try in that match, and also scored a stunning try in the recent win over Quins, but the truth is that such moments have been a little too rare this season for the outside centre who played in both of England's Tests against Argentina last summer. "My form has got better," he admits. I started a little slowly at the start of the season. I wouldn't say I was terrible but I was just playing games and not having much influence and not getting too involved. But I think I am starting to find myself a bit more at Bath now and am working well with the players around me and am getting myself into the game a bit more. Both he and Eastmond struggled physically against Northampton last weekend, though. In attack they were incisive, but the greater power of Luther Burrell and George Pisi caused them all manner of problems in defence. This is one of the reasons why, despite an injury crisis at centre, Joseph did not add to his six caps during the autumn internationals. He will remain in the Saxons squad when head coach Stuart Lancaster makes his announcements this week, and then when injury replacements are called up for the likes of Manu Tuilagi ahead of the Six Nations. Burrell is significantly ahead of him in that respect. "To be honest I wasn't playing my best rugby at the time." says Joseph candidly of his autumn omission. I was a bit off where I should be. So for me not to be playing was the right decision. It gave me the opportunity to work hard down here at Bath and get used to things. Lessons have been learnt from the Northampton defeat, apparently. "Franklin's Gardens is always a tough place to go," says Joseph. We know they are a very good side and they showed that. We were pretty disappointed with the way we played, but there is a lot we can take from it. It might do us some good. This is a new week and we are excited by the challenge. Bath certainly have depth in their squad resources, as evidenced by their United side's mid-December victory over Northampton Wanderers in the Aviva A League final. But today we will discover their depth in quality. "We are going to give it our best shot," says Joseph. "Obviously we are pleased where we are now, but it's a case of "we want more, don't we?" It's a case of striving to get that much better.