When the European fixture list was released a few months ago, most Glasgow supporters would probably have settled there and then for taking a share of the spoils ?? in essence one win and one defeat ?? from their side's back to back clashes with Toulouse.

When the European fixture list was released a few months ago, most Glasgow supporters would probably have settled there and then for taking a share of the spoils ?? in essence one win and one defeat ?? from their side's back to back clashes with Toulouse.

In light of which, the upbeat (and only slightly tongue-in-cheek) assessment after Sunday's 19-11 loss to the French side in the Stade Ernest-Wallon is that the job is now half done. The only fly in that rose-tinted ointment is that the Warriors have done the easy bit (losing) and must now pull off the rather trickier task of beating the four-times European champions at Scotstoun on Saturday to complete their December assignment.

Mission impossible? Mission improbable? Neither, according to Glasgow flanker Rob Harley, the Warriors flanker whose snap assessment after Sunday's game is that his side is well capable of turning the tables on Toulouse when the two clubs meet again on Scottish soil.

Others in the Glasgow camp have echoed Harley??s sentiments. Had they managed to keep 15 men on the field for the entire game then Glasgow would surely have run Toulouse even closer than they did. They might have been a little flattered by Niko Matawalu??s late try, assisted as it was by the referee??s refusal to look too closely at Tommy Seymour??s suspiciously forward scoring pass, but at no time was there a feeling in the French ground that the Warriors were being completely outclassed as they have on previous continental excursions.

Throw in the considerations that Glasgow will have home advantage and that short turnarounds are always a greater inconvenience to the travelling side and the Warriors?? prospects look brighter still. But, as Harley admitted, they will need to tighten up their discipline and improve their breakdown performance against a back row of illustrious repute if they are to get the better of the men from the French south-west.

??We are giving ourselves an uphill battle if we are conceding a lot of penalties,?? said the rueful Harley. ??We have to be more clinical there.

??I think what we can take from that is that we are up there, but we have to be on the top of our game and that means playing as well as we can, being precise in what we do and executing correctly. If we are being honest with ourselves, we probably dropped off a little bit from the standards we expect of ourselves.??

Harley has been in outstanding form for both Glasgow and Scotland this season and has muscled his way past both Kelly Brown and Al Strokosch as the first-choice Test blindside. However, Toulouse??s breakaway combination of Yannick Nyanga, Louis Picamoles and Imanol Harinordoquy was probably as good a set of loose forwards as he is ever likely to meet on an international pitch. Nor was there going to be any respite later in the game against a team that had former world player of the year Thierry Dusautoir covering from the bench.

??It is exciting playing against their whole pack,?? said Harley with unmistakeable relish. ??The back row in particular are great players. It means that you have to be focused in every phase of the game. There are huge challenges out there.??

The loss of Chris Fusaro early in the game left Glasgow without a specialist openside, and may have contributed to the penalty count that mounted against them. Regardless of that misfortune, it is one area of the game where Glasgow will need to show more accuracy than they did in Toulouse if they are to get the better of the French outfit on Saturday.

Harley said: ??It was disappointing for Chris to go off early. But you look at Nyanga: the impact he had on the game, the turnovers he made. Looking at next week, we will be talking about what we can do to combat that, getting into rucks and really clearing space and giving ourselves quicker ball so we can attack.

??Most guys would want to play the game right now. But if we look at it properly I think it is an advantage to be going back to our home ground in front of a packed crowd at Scotstoun. We will take every advantage we can get next week and hopefully that will be the difference.??

One of the curiosities of consecutive fixtures against the same opponents is that the first game removes the guesswork from analysis ahead of the second. Harley suggested that Glasgow??s planning this week will be more tightly focused on specific areas than it was before the clash in France. Yet he also made it clear that he wants Scotstoun to be as inhospitable a venue for Toulouse as their Stade Ernest-Wallon has long been for visiting sides.

??In every game this season we have had a lift of the crowd at Scotstoun,?? said the 24-year-old. ??I am expecting the same on Saturday. When we are playing in front of them we will get that excitement and that energy and hopefully there will be a little bit of intimidation for Toulouse when they have to come to Scotland.??