GLASGOW WARRIORS have "raised the bar" in the Guinness PRO12 according to the Connacht hooker Tom McCartney.
Since he arrived at the Irish side from Super Rugby outfit the Blues last summer, the New Zealander has been impressed by the standard of the league over here.
And he feels that the Warriors have shown other teams the way in terms of the standards that need to be met on a regular basis in a bid to reach the end of season play-offs.
"You only have to look at the fact that Glasgow have over 30 international players in their squad to realise what a dangerous outfit they are," McCartney stated. However, that does not mean the 29-year-old fears the threat posed in Galway on Saturday evening.
"This season I have been impressed by them and some of the rugby they have played and they are top for a reason. They have players all over the pitch that can hurt you, but we need to focus on our own game and we always have great belief in ourselves, especially in front of a home crowd.
"It should be a cracking match and with so much left for both teams to play for we will be looking to get off to a quick start and try and get ourselves on the front foot early on in this one."
Pat Lam's men currently sit sixth in the league, the last automatic qualifying place for next season's European Rugby Champions Cup, but they have the Scarlets and Edinburgh Rugby breathing down their necks.
Connacht have had a good season, but they have lost seven of their last 10 matches including their last match against Scottish opposition, when Edinburgh visited the Sportsground in January and came away with a 16-13 victory.
They last won in early March against Treviso before league losses to Cardiff Blues, Munster and Ulster and a European Rugby Challenge Cup defeat to Gloucester.
"The recent run has not been great, however you do not simply become a bad side overnight and this group of players are determined to end the season on a good note," McCartney said.
"Pat Lam has put in place great structures and a good team spirit here and we want to go out on Saturday and show our home supporters what we can do."
Meanwhile, Connacht captain John Muldoon is relishing Saturday's match.
The 32-year-old back-row has played 246 times for the club and is coming to the end of his 14th season with them.
"I've been involved with Connacht for a long time now and this is the first time we've come to the business end of the season with still so much to play for," he explained.
"To have just three games to go in the regular season and everything still to play for is just brilliant. We've put in the hard work all season and it's paying off.
"We said from the start when we set out our season goals that we want to finish in the top six of the league and qualify for the Champions Cup, but it's crunch time now.
"We know we face a big challenge here on Saturday with Glasgow coming to the Sportsground. They have probably been the most consistent and high performing team in the competition for the last number of years and they're top of the league for a reason.
"It's been quite a while since we've beaten them. I think it was back in the 2010/11 season when we did the double on them but unfortunately I missed both those games with a broken arm. Indeed, the last time I was involved in a Connacht team that beat Glasgow was in September 2008."
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