Ugo Monye has called on the Twickenham Stoop crowd to be Harlequins' 16 man against Clermont Auvergne tomorrow.
Quins looked down and out of the Heineken Cup following initial pool group defeats to Scarlets and Clermont, but back to back wins against Racing Metro hauled them right back in contention.
However, they need to beat last year's losing finalists to ensure qualification does not go down to a nervy final day against Scarlets in Llanelli.
Monye said: “We understand the importance of the game, there is a lot riding on it. After a disappointing start we have put ourselves back in contention, and we can't wait for the challenge. “We always get great support, but on Saturday we're going to have to step up our performance, and we will need the crowd more than ever. They will give us energy when we are tired and when we are under pressure, we will give it everything we have got.”
Having recovered from a recurrence of a groin injury which kept him out for a large chunk of the first half of the campaign, Monye should be fit for what would be his first Heineken Cup game of the season.
He said: “The boys did well out in Clermont as not many teams come away from there with a losing bonus point. I could talk all day about how great a team they are littered with world class players, and if we let them play they will tear us apart.
“But when we put our game together it can really hurt teams, which we have proved again and again in big games. We need to draw on that experience, and we need everybody to be on top of their game. As much as we respect them, we have to focus on what we are about.”
Quins, however, go into the game on the back of a disappointing 23-9 defeat at Northampton last Friday, allowing the Saints to do the double over them for the first time in nine years.
Monye added: “When you play top teams there are only small margins, and a few things didn't go our way, but there would be no better way to bounce back than by beating one of the top teams in Europe in front of a packed Stoop.”
