Warriors can expect to ride a wave of emotion

If so, it is quite a compliment since, albeit the flankers' paths never quite crossed in the Test arena, they met a number of times at club level, while it will do the reputation of the Welsh province's head coach no harm locally if he has recruited the one Glasgow player who put in a decent showing at Parc y Scarlets last Friday.

There is the sense of this being something of the end of an era tonight. The home team will take the field wearing badges commemorating the 10-year Glasgow career of Graeme Morrison, who is making his 175th appearance for them, a decision supporters hope is genuinely being driven by training form rather than sentiment.

It is not quite clear whether Morrison is departing but Barclay, the last of the once- feared "Killer Bs" back row which also contained Kelly Brown and Johnnie Beattie, to leave the club, knows this may be his last appearance at home for the side he has represented for nine years, given they are now struggling to bring a home semi-final to Glasgow. He knows, too, that these considerations have the potential to have an effect on performance.

"It's quite weird to know that this might be my last home game," he said after stating that he was 99% certain he knows where he will be playing next season.

"We don't know what's going to happen. If we win our next two we have a chance to get second or first, I don't know the logisitics of it. I guess you just take it for granted on a day-to-day basis and I think the last couple of weeks I've been more aware I'll only be here for another couple of weeks and then I'll be off somewhere else.

"The emotional side of things is very important in rugby and in the latter stage of the season and in big games, an emotional driver can give you an edge. We certainly didn't have that last week against the Scarlets. We didn't have the physicality and intensity and that's more of a mindset thing than anything. I think it'll be an emotional couple of weeks and not just for myself."

The same, he acknowledges, applies to Morrison and, while Glasgow's press officer was quick to point out that it was by no means certain yet that this will be the international centre's last home appearance for the club, regardless of the result, Barclay's words seemed telling. "He's one of my best pals, was best man at my wedding and since I've been here he's been the mainstay," he said. "I've been here nine years, he's been here 10 and there's just us two left from the original squad, while James Eddie's been away and come back. There is an element that you want to give him a good send-off and certainly want to make it a good farewell."

Whether or not it is a last chance for Glasgow supporters to pay tribute to the efforts of the former Dollar Academy schoolmates whose careers have been inextricably linked since those teenage years, this is a huge match for the club that was funded to improve upon last season's performance when they reached the Pro12 semi-finals.

Since few outside Llanelli would regard the Scarlets as being as good a side as the defending champions, who are unbeaten in their last five matches, the manner of Glasgow's defeat last week does not bode well. But Barclay has been around long enough to know the impact that can have on his team's psyche. "We spoke after the game and even though the way we lost was pretty crap and you don't want to lose that way, if you're going to lose, sometimes it's better to lose in that manner. It gives you the kick up the arse that you need," he reasoned. "If we'd lost by eight to nine points and hadn't played that well maybe we wouldn't have addressed some of those issues, but we know we played badly and couldn't play much worse and it reminded us how much we want to win, how much we want a home semi and how hard we've worked to get to this position."

Tonight provides an opportunity for all who associate themselves with Glasgow Warriors to show how much they care.