ALAN GAFFNEY is confident Saracens can blossom further next season thanks to the expectations they have created over the past seven months.

Tipped by many as relegation candidates before the season started, the Men in Black have made their boldest statement of intent yet that they are a team on the verge of realising their undoubted potential with a glittering prize.

Sarries occupy the last Premiership play-off place and host Bath in the semi-finals of the European Challenge Cup next week - not bad for a side who finished tenth in the league last year after temporary consultant Eddie Jones engineered a Houdini-style escape act.

Last Sunday's single point defeat at Wasps merely served to further exhibit the enormous strides the club has made under director of rugby Gaffney this season. And the Aussie says people are starting to sit up and take notice and treat his side with a greater degree of respect than they have done in previous seasons.

"Next year will be much more difficult than this season because there will be more expectation on us to achieve things," he said.

"Expectation grows and that happens at every club, but that is what we want. Some people might have expected us to lose to Wasps in previous seasons but they were disappointed we didn't get something out of the game last week - that's how far we've come.

"While we know we won't win every game, the expectation is there to go out and compete and there's no reason to think there isn't a side out there we can't beat on a given day."

The Aussie, who has won the Premiership manager of the month award twice this season, revealed that even some of his players had found it difficult to grasp the dizzy heights Sarries have reached this year, and he is determined to rid the doubters of their negativity and replace it with his trademark winning mentality.

"There are still a couple of players who can't believe what we've achieved this season," added Gaffney. "We have to dispel the doubts not only outside the club, but those coming from within.

"There are players that have probably been pleasantly surprised but everyone has been in tune with what we're trying to do.

"If things don't happen for us this season we will be disappointed. We've taken reasonably big steps forward but have achieved zero yet."