Kris Chesney believes a morale boosting win against Sale Sharks tomorrow (Sunday) would be the ideal preparation ahead of Saracens' two toughest tests of the season.

After the visit of Philippe Saint Andre's reborn side the Men in Black face a daunting trip to Welford Road where reigning Premiership champions Leicester Tigers lie in wait. Saracens then head across the Severn Bridge to take on Ospreys in the EDF Energy Cup semi-final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

And Chesney, who will equal the number of all-time Premiership appearances with 193 on Sunday, says there is no margin for error following three straight defeats.

"After losing the last three games we should be out of the race," admitted the abrasive flanker. "But then you see results like Sale losing to Worcester while Gloucester have been on a bit of a grim run.

"It's really opened things up and reaching the play offs is back in our own destiny. It must be entertaining for the neutral but for us it's a nightmare!

"It's massively important we win against Sale, not only for the points but to gain momentum and boost confidence heading into the Leicester game. You need to play at your very best to get a result there and if we knock them off it will put us in good stead going to Cardiff.

"We can't afford to think about that game (semi final) yet as we've got two difficult league games to deal with. We concentrate on each game as it comes. We're all playing for our places as nobody is guaranteed a starting spot in the semi final."

The back row powerhouse, 34, admits Saracens have been in a panic since results took a tumble last month but was happy with the improved performance in defeat at London Irish last weekend.

"We've played worse against other teams and won," he added. "I'm always keen for the four points first and foremost, while the performance comes afterwards.

"We need to perfect our performances and on Saturday we threw the ball about a bit more and were less conservative than what we had been. I think we got a bit panicky after losing two games on the bounce."

Chesney is extremely proud' to be on the verge of becoming an official Premiership veteran alongside London Irish prop Neal Hatley and Wasps lock Simon Shaw but wants to set down a new marker at the top of the top flight appearances table.

"I celebrated playing over 300 game for Saracens earlier this season, which is a hell of a lot. So this is also another massive achievement for me," said Chesney, now in his 12th season with the Men in Black.

"My ultimate goal is to play as many games as I can for Saracens this season and next. I'll just keep on trucking as I love playing rugby and don't really know what I'd do without it."

And what are Chesney's most memorable games for Sarries?

"Beating Gloucester last year was a massive win for us and scoring the winning try was a fantastic bonus," he recalled. "Also, one of the first games I played for Saracens was against Leicester at Enfield. We had the likes of Philippe Sella and Michael Lynagh playing for us while Leicester had all their big guns out like Martin Johnson and Rory Underwood."

9:00am Saturday 8th March 2008

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