'A top man' - Saints look forward to welcoming Ferguson back to Gardens

Sharp and Ferguson were together on the Saints coaching staff for several seasons before the latter departed during the summer.

And now they will go head to head as the two transition coaches take up key roles in cup week, with Saints welcoming Quins to the Gardens this weekend.

"It's great because Ferg is a top man who did a lot of great stuff in the seven years he was around so it will be great to see him and I'm sure there will be lots of smiles on the day," Sharp said.

"It will be good to see Fergie.

"We've been staying in touch and he's obviously doing the transition role at Quins so it's a different environment."

Friendships will be put aside for 80 minutes as Saints look to build on a strong start to their cup campaign, having claimed a bonus-point win in their opening fixture at Saracens back in September.

"We obviously started really well against Sarries in the PRC six weeks ago so it was nice to have that result come full circle (when Saints won the Gallagher PREM game at home) last week," Sharp said.

"Now we get a whole new crew to keep the momentum going."

The 'new crew' will include some senior stars who need some minutes and some young players who will gain valuable experience from this season's cup competition.

"Sammy Graham has come back from his long-term injury and got a couple of involvements but we've had excellent performances from people like Callum Chick and Tom Pearson so we've had top players battling to get into the squad," Sharp said.

"That depth is testament to the recruitment model and players wanting to be in this environment.

"We'll see a few new faces like Toby Thame, Henry Lumley, who made his PREM debut while at school last year, so it's a real nice mix of business.

"We've got some returning from injury and for others they've been out on loan grafting with those clubs, having to do double sessions, travelling, earning their stripes in National League and the Championship.

"We've got a couple of lads coming back from Uni so it will be nice to get them all back in the group.

"We've got some of the senior lads who are trying to get into that 23 and put their hand up, we've got lads trying to prove from an Academy point of view that they're ready for the next step and we've got a few lads who have been champing at the bit so they've now got a great chance to fly in and do what we've been doing in the past six weeks.

"We're really excited to take on this weekend with whatever Quins throw at us."

But Sharp says there hasn't been any focus placed on what Saints will be up against on Saturday evening.

"There's zero analysis on what they (Quins) are doing," he said.

"The beauty of only having a 10-team league is that you know the styles teams are going to come and play with.

"Fundamentally, it's about building trust within the group and building that consistency of messages and behaviours.

"It's the key focus for this week and the Newcastle week (Saints host the Red Bulls in the cup on November 15) as well."

When asked how different preparations this week have been from a Gallagher PREM or Investec Champions Cup week, Sharp said: "In terms of prep and how we're going about it, it's the same as every week.

"The big changes are that Lee Radford's gone away (to coach Scotland), James Craig's going away next week (with England A) so it provides opportunity for me to run this week, Jim Henry to run the defence and for Sam (Vesty) and Dows (Phil Dowson) to more oversee the whole environment rather than doing as much on-the-pitch coaching.

"We'll see a few changes in the playing group as well but a lot of familiar faces you'll recognise from the last few weeks in the PREM."

On his own job this week, transition manager and kicking coach Sharp said: "I've basically taken Sam's role for this week so he (Vesty) will be running waters and doing messaging to get a different feel from being on the field.

"Me and Jim (Henry) will be sat up with James (Craig) so that will be great and it's just a different experience for us from what we normally do week to week."

And when asked what Saints boss Phil Dowson will be doing on matchday, Sharp smiled and said: "Good question... whatever he wants!"