Paul Hull is confident Bristol have everything in place for a return to the Guinness Premiership as he prepares to send his players into battle in the first leg of their Championship play-off final.

Hull's men head to Exeter this evening in the first part of a double-header that will conclude at the Memorial Stadium next Wednesday – with the winners securing a lucrative place in the top tier of English rugby.

And the head coach (pictured below) is convinced Bristol have the finances, the stadium, the backroom team and the players to compete in the Premiership.

Bristol were relegated 12 months ago but have bounced back by finishing on top of the Championship table after the 22-game regular season, winning their play-off pool and then beating London Welsh in the semi-final.

Now they face the acid test - a two-legged final against league runners-up Exeter, a team against whom they both won and lost during the regular season.

"We've got the stadium, we've got the backroom staff and there's a lot of recruitment going on behind the scenes for if we do make that next step and achieve our goals," said Hull, who includes former Exeter player Junior Fatialofa in his squad for the game.

"Exeter and ourselves have both got two really important games before we can really contemplate things like that – but hopefully whoever wins can put up a good fight and do well in the Premiership.

"We're hoping it's us – and we've got things in place if we do achieve our goal this year. I'm confident that if we do achieve our goal, we've got enough finances to go forward and challenge – but at the moment I'm focusing more on these two games."

Bristol have confirmed they will sign Bath fly-half Nicky Little in the summer, while Cornish Pirates prop Rudi Brits is also on his way to the Memorial Stadium.

Bristol (from): L Arscott, L Robinson, D Norton, T Arscott, J Adams, L Eves, J Fatialofa, S Giddens, A Jarvis, M Davies, J Spice, S Alford. M Irish, M Vunipola, D Crompton, W Thompson, D Blaney, O Hayes, R Winters, J Phillips, M Sambucetti, D Barry, I Grieve, R Pennycook, J Merriman, D Montagu.