SARACENS boss Alan Gaffney has told his players not to die wondering' as they head into one of the most crucial and exciting weeks in the club's history.

The Men in Black host Bath in the European Challenge Cup semi-final on Sunday before travelling to face Worcester six days later with a play-off place at stake.

And the club's Australian director of rugby says he is delighted with the massive strides the club has made under his stewardship this year - not that the modest boss will take any plaudits for it.

Gaffney has been a breath of fresh air since arriving at Vicarage Road, almost in the shadow of his friend Eddie Jones who did such a sterling job in keeping the club in the Premiership last year.

But the astute, straight-talking coach has proved his own impressive pedigree by transforming Saracens into a fearless, exciting outfit full of self-belief.

Jones will be visiting his old stamping ground for a fleeting visit in the summer, mainly to cast his eye over the academy starlets and Gaffney will be keen to tell his fellow countryman all about the club's rapid progress, both on and off the pitch.

Reflecting on the season at the club's Hatfield training base earlier this week, Gaffney said: "I'm pretty proud of what the players have achieved for themselves.

"They've worked very hard and we've achieved a lot of our objectives and aims that we set out at the start of the season, irrespective of what happens over the next few games.

"We've got to do the job this weekend and the weekend after. It would be soul-destroying if we didn't get anything out of this season but the reality is that can still happen. We live of the mantra that you should never die wondering."

With great results come greater expectations and the Aussie is adamant his players will thrive under the increased pressure next season.

"You can climb the mountain but staying up there is more difficult again," he added. "We will finish a lot higher (this season) than what a lot of people expected and we have to maintain that. The expectation will grow but that's good for the players as it puts pressure on them and that means we've got to keep improving.

"We're learning to play games out but we've still got to get better at doing that.

"We've advanced a lot and haven't lost two on the trot this year, apart from in the EDF Energy Cup."

Gaffney admitted he was not sure what he had gotten himself into when his reign got off to a mixed start, although he points to the round four defeat at Sale Sharks as a pivotal moment in Sarries' upturn in fortunes.

"We started with two losses and a draw, which wasn't the most auspicious start for a coaching career in the Premiership," he said, appearing to forget the 44-20 home demolition of Newcastle Falcons.

"No-one had great expectations of us then and I suppose that took the pressure off the start we had. There's no doubt the players have grown within themselves, there's a lot of trust and loyalty to each other now and they have belief in what they do.

"Sale were up to full strength when we played them there and we ran in three tries. There wasn't a lot in it and at that early stage of the season it showed we could compete with a lot of these better sides. That has happened over the season."

The director of rugby added: "That may have been the initial stage of the belief because we'd been beaten 21-19 by Wasps at Twickenham and then drew (13-13) with Bristol, who were supposed to be an absolute dud side we were expected to beat.

"No one expected Bristol to do what they've done this season so, in retrospect a draw was a pretty good result."

Sarries have certainly had plenty of them this season and favourable ones at Vicarage Road on Sunday and a sold-out Sixways next Saturday will see the sleeping giants finally awake from their slumber.