Mallinder seeks Saints improvement
It was a case of so near yet so far for the Saints last year and Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder insists his charges are ready to finish the job when the newly-named Aviva Premiership gets underway next week.
Mallinder's men finished second in the Premiership, two points adrift of Leicester, before losing 21-19 to Saracens in the semi-final despite having the advantage of facing the London side at Franklin's Gardens.
There was a silver lining in the form of Heineken Cup qualification and LV= Cup success, with Saints' 30-24 victory over Gloucester the fourth piece of silverware the club has won in the past three seasons.
Mallinder's men also reached the Heineken Cup quarter final, before losing to Munster, and despite conceding their failure to be crowned Premiership champions was a bitter pill to swallow the Saints chief is adamant his troops are ready to make amends this time around.
"We fell short last season and we know it," said Mallinder, speaking at the Aviva Premiership launch at Twickenham yesterday. "We were frustrated and really disappointed at the end of last season.
"But we've now reflected on the season and we think it was one of improvement and actually a successful season for us.
"To finish second, to win a cup competition and to qualify for Europe was good for us. This season we need to progress and keep on improving. We know it's going to be difficult and there are a lot of good sides out there but we think we have the squad to do well."
Despite Mallinder's confidence in his squad there are doubts over Northampton's ability to repeat their 2009/10 heroics following the high-profile departure of Juandre Kruger and Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe.
The arrivals of Adam Eustace from Gloucester and Mark Sorenson from Newcastle have swelled the ranks, and Mallinder said: "We are confident that we've got some experienced guys in the second-row who can take over from Juandre.
"There's no doubt that Juandre Kruger did a very good job for us, but we've replaced him with Sorenson and Eustace, who are both very experienced campaigners, who know how to play Premiership rugby."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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