Saints wary of resurgent Bristol

Courtney Lawes and Saints secured a hard-fought win at Kingsholm last Sunday (picture: Sharon Lucey)

Jim Mallinder knows Bristol will be on a high when they head to Franklin's Gardens on Saturday.

But the Saints boss says his side must target another victory as they look to further their chances of making the Aviva Premiership play-offs.

Mallinder’s men won 13-12 at Gloucester last Sunday to move nine points behind fourth-placed Bath with 10 matches to play.

It was Saints’ second successive league win and they will now be looking to make it three in a row this weekend.

Buit Bristol have the same aim, having beaten Worcester and Sale during the past two weeks.

And Mallinder said: “We said it’s three massive games and we wanted to go to Gloucester and scrap for a win. You’ve got to do whatever you can to get a win down there.

“We’ve now got Bristol at home this week and they’ve won last Sunday so they’re going to be on a high.

“It’s going to be a tricky game, but we’ve got to look to target it.

“If we can get three wins out of this period then we’ll be moving up the league and in a much better position.”

Saints have still not been beaten in the first game of a new year since 2011.

And Mallinder added: “The win at Gloucester was a very positive start. A very happy new year.

“We only won by a point, but it’s a big point so we were very happy.”