Dan McFarland is expecting Ulster to come up against a "hungry" Connacht side in tomorrow night's United Rugby Championship quarter-final at Kingspan Stadium.
McFarland admitted it is "do or die" in the play-offs as his side try to make the most of home advantage after finishing the regular season in second place.
But they come up against a Connacht side who finished the season strongly, winning five of their last six games to finish seventh.
Read next: Newington tribute to Aodhán Gillen as they prepare for new surroundings
“Connacht have had a real resurgence this year," said McFarland, who knows all about the Galway men having spent 15 years at the Sportsground as a player and coach.
"They had a really tough start to the year, a lot of that was down to the putting in of the new pitch and that meant they had to have a number of away games in a row - and momentum is a funny thing in sport.
“They have won five of the last six URC games and that is a testament to the work Andy Friend and Pete Wilkins have done with the squad.
“They will come hungry, it is do or die in the play-offs. We’ll expect an extremely physical and aggressive Connacht side coming to play against us.
“They are extremely tenacious around the breakdown and contact area - they are in your face the whole time, they live on the offside line to get up and get in your face.
“They have a great counter attack and turnover game, they score a lot of their tries from counter attack and turnover and they also manage the field very well. The games against Connacht are always competitive.
“We are definitely not looking any further than trying to win a massive inter-provincial game at home."
Finishing second in the URC table means Ulster will also be at home in the semi-finals if they progress.
McFarland though says their league position will count for nothing if they fail to get the job done against Connacht on Friday evening.
“Finishing second is not important at all unless you win the quarter-final, in my head it is about this week,” he said.
“So, in terms of its relevance to the future, as it stands right now it is irrelevant.
"That way we can wrap our heads around what I consider an extremely big task on Friday night.
“In terms of legacy and how I feel about finishing second...the team, the players and the support staff should be very proud of themselves.
“It is an 18-game season...we won 13 games – one better than we did last year - we have scored 75 tries this year and demonstrated that we can win some tough games.
"Even with the sticky patch in the middle of the year, we have come out and won 13 games and managed to finish one place ahead of where we did last year, so in terms of legacy and what we have done they should be proud of that," added the Ulster coach.
Tickets are still available for Friday’s game, click here for more info.
READ NEXT:
- Armagh vs Down: Player ratings from Sunday's Ulster SFC semi-final
Oran Kearney happy as Matthew Shevlin hits the goal trail again
Newington tribute to Aodhán Gillen as they prepare for new surroundings
Albert Watson bids an emotional farewell as he readies himself for new role
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
