Northampton Saints wing James Ramm has admitted that the Premiership table is “not a pretty sight” for the club at the present time.
Saints won their first title for 10 years last season, but Friday’s defeat by Harlequins left them eighth in the Premiership, nine points outside the play-off places.
They have won five out of 11 games so far and only have seven left to try and close that gap and finish in the top four to make the play-offs.
“The mentality we are taking into this now is that everyone has written us off, and we love being underdogs so let’s go and prove them wrong,” the Australian told BBC Radio Northampton.
With several players away on Six Nations duty, Northampton have the consolation of a break in the Premiership until 21 March.
They have turned their attention instead to the Premiership Rugby Cup, which they won in 2019, and an opening game against East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on Saturday.
“I love it as a competition. When I first came over, I played probably four or five PRC games before playing a Prem game,” Ramm added.
“It’s a really good level, it’s not too much of a step down, so there are only positives from the PRC for me.”
He continued: “We don’t overlook this (competition) at all. It’s really important to us, and to put ourselves in a position to win silverware would be huge.
“But also for bringing momentum back into the Prem and Europe, this is such a good six-week block for that.”
Leicester won 24-8 when the two teams met in the league as Tommy Freeman’s late try for Saints was no more than a consolation.
“The fans (at Welford Road) – how can I put this nicely – are quite vocal, and you can feel that atmosphere where this isn’t just a normal game,” Ramm said.
“You do really feel that intensity and for those younger boys to experience that this weekend will stand them in good stead.”
Director of rugby Phil Dowson does not believe that Northampton’s struggles in the league will “up the ante” for his team in the cup.
“The whole MO of the club is about developing players, in terms of our recruitment, in terms of how hard we lean on the academy… and this is their opportunity to put a Saints shirt on and step up to that next level, show us what they’ve learned,” he said.
“This is not just important in terms of them achieving something as a group of players, but it’s important for them to show where they are on the ladder and put down a statement, to make a claim for a shirt moving forwards.”
Dowson expects Saints to come out of the cup games “humming” and ready to “give it a hell of a shot” in their remaining league fixtures.
“We’re on 26 points, there’s 35 left, that gets us to 61 points and we only got 60 (in the regular season) last year,” he added.
“There’s loads of points out there but it’s a very competitive league and we have to start turning that corner, and we will do.”
