Boss Danny Wilson is looking for a derby day reaction from his Cardiff Blues as the countdown to the big Guinness PRO12 clash with Ospreys begins.
Wilson admitted there had been strong words in the dressing room after the European defeat to Harlequins as he called for a reaction.
And, while he admits the games will not get any easier for his team, he is hoping the motivation of a big derby clash at the Liberty Stadium can help rally his troops.
“We’ve got a huge amount of work to do. All we can do it keep working and keep banging away at it and chip away to get an improvement in performance,” he said.
“There is nothing like a derby to raise the motivation. We have a couple of days now to recover and then we build into a big week before Ospreys.
“We have spoken in no uncertain terms after the game that we need to improve from our efforts against Harlequins to give ourselves a chance of getting anything in an away derby.”
Meanwhile, Wilson revealed the region would now monitor the fitness of back row Ellis Jenkins after he was carried off in the second half after an impressive and all-action start from the flanker.
“His first 20-minute involvement in the game was positive for us. He caused problems for them with turnovers,” he said.
“Losing Ellis after losing Sam Warburton before the game to illness, two influential back row, left us for the rest of the game without a seven.
“But I’m not complaining because they (Harlequins) were in the same boat as us, they lost players early on too. It’s not an excuse, but it’s a shame for Ellis.”