'Fresh focus' perfect for Saints following Champions Cup heartache

And if that's the case, Saints should be in good shape this weekend.

Because they have been given sobering lessons by Harlequins and Leinster in the past two games, suffering painful losses on both occasions.

It wasn't that they were badly beaten, it was that they were nowhere near their best yet came fairly close to claiming wins at Twickenham and Croke Park.

And Saints know that if they can banish the nervousness that has blighted them on the big stage, they can get back on track as they bid to book a home Gallagher Premiership play-off semi-final.

"Coming in on Tuesday and blowing away the cobwebs was the best thing to do to move on from the disappointment," said back row forward Sam Graham, who started in the 20-17 Investec Champions Cup semi-final loss at Croke Park last Saturday.

"It was clear to see the emotion on everyone’s faces after the game. The boys have gone to the well there and left everything out there on the field, unfortunately we left it slightly too late.

"It's been about coming back in this week, having a bit of a run around, clearing the mind and putting to bed what went wrong, and putting a fresh focus on the things we need to get after this weekend to get a performance."

Saints know that a bonus-point win against Gloucester will be enough to secure a top-two finish in the Premiership.

And with cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens sold out again, Graham said: "It is going to be special.

"Having had sell-outs for the last however many home games, we want to go one more and we are just so focused on putting on a good performance.

"It is going to be a celebration for a lot of guys with it being the last one.

"We want to keep the momentum going, get back on to winning ways and see if we can go the whole way.

"There’s a lot of incentives around this game.

"I think we need to dust ourselves down from the weekend and make sure we are in the right place to get us there and get one more game for the guys that are leaving."

Gloucester come into the game on a high, having secured a fine 40-23 win against Benetton last weekend to book a place in the European Challenge Cup final, which takes place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 24.

"The way they have been playing in Europe and reaching a final, we know it is going to be a big challenge," Graham said.

"Hopefully with the better weather coming, it is going to be a good spectacle in front of a packed-out cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

"We’re very excited, we’ve got to park our disappointment from the weekend.

"We know we have worked so hard this season and the best is yet to come."