Connacht are fast running out of time in the URC but Tom Farrell insists the players can thrive despite their near-desperate circumstances.
Back to back interpro defeats over the festive period leaves the westerners in 13th place and, as things stand, have to make up nine points on rival teams to make the top eight in the table.
They only have seven games to do it, too, starting against the sixth-placed Sharks at the Sportsground this afternoon.
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"I wouldn’t say we’re feeling the pressure," said Farrell. "There's an awareness among the group that we’re a couple of points off the play-offs now.
"To be honest we treat every game like we have to win it. There’s only seven games left in the URC calendar so it’s very important.
"We’ll be targeting this last block of games with huge emphasis."
Connacht are boosted at least by the return of internationals Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham, who along with Josh Murphy have recovered from the illness that kept them out of last Sunday's loss at Leinster.
The westerners have made a massive nine changes from that defeat, with exciting second row Darragh Murray making his first start at the Connacht venue.
"It doesn’t need repeating how important this fixture is,” director of rugby Andy Friend said.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where every point is crucial in these last seven games, so four or five points tomorrow is a must.
“We know what to expect from the Sharks. They bring the physicality that you come to expect from a South African side but they also like to throw the ball around, so it should be an exciting one for the fans."
*Leinster have named 10 debutants for the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship opener against Connacht at Energia Park this afternoon (2.30pm).
Included in that number are Ireland internationals Aoife Dalton and Hannah O'Brien in a team co-captained by Christy Haney and Hannah O'Connor.
Mary Healy captains Connacht from scrum-half, one of only eight survivors from the province's last game against Ulster women last September.
Connacht: 15. Tiernan O’Halloran , 14. John Porch , 13. Tom Farrell , 12. Cathal Forde , 11. Mack Hansen, 10. Jack Carty, 9. Kieran Marmion; 1. Denis Buckley , 2. Shane Delahunt , 3. Finlay Bealham , 4. Oisín Dowling , 5. Darragh Murray, 6. Josh Murphy, 7. Conor Oliver, 8. Shamus Hurley-Langton.
Replacements: 16. Dylan Tierney-Martin , 17. Jordan Duggan , 18. Dominic Robertson-McCoy , 19. Leva Fifita , 20. Cian Prendergast , 21. Caolin Blade , 22. Conor Fitzgerald , 23. Byron Ralston.
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