Aviva Premiership: Saints will fight for top spot, says Lee Dickson

Lee Dickson insists Northampton Saints will keep fighting for top spot in the Aviva Premiership despite a disappointing couple of weeks.

Defeat in the LV= Cup final on 16 March by Exeter Chiefs was followed by a 19-6 loss to in-form Sale Sharks in the Aviva Premiership a week later.

We want to finish top, and we still have to play Saracens and Bath Rugby, so we will be going for it

Lee Dickson

That gave Saracens a chance to move clear in the battle for first place and, coupled with Saints’ 22-16 loss to Leicester Tigers at the weekend, they now find themselves seven points clear with just four games to go.

But scrum-half Dickson claims it won’t be long until the Saints are marching again, with a chance to avenge Sale’s victory a couple of weeks ago his immediate priority as the two lock horns again in the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup on Thursday.

“We can’t be downbeat, we can’t afford to at this point in the season, and we’d rather slip up at this stage of the season rather than the play-offs,” said Dickson.

“We want to finish top, and we still have to play Saracens and Bath Rugby, so we will be going for it.

“We need to keep winning and that starts with Sale Sharks in the Amlin on Thursday. We lost in one final, and now we want to get to another and win that.

“There’s been no hangover from the LV= Cup defeat, obviously we are disappointed not to win it but we were fighting on three fronts up until recently, obviously we’ve lost one but we need to bounce back.

“There’s been a positive reaction, we’re disappointed with losing but we’re still in a good position, we’re still seven points behind Saracens and seven clear of Leicester in third.”

Having missed out in the LV= Cup, Saints’ hopes for silverware now lie with the Aviva Premiership and in Europe.

But 29-year-old Dickson is not getting ahead of himself having seen the Sharks bite first-hand.

“Sale are playing extremely well and have been extremely fired up, it’s wide open for that top four now and they are in with a shout,” he added.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them make it, they are a very good side who will cause a threat for us on Thursday.

“Defensively they are very strong, especially in the breakdown with Dave Seymour who has been a bit of a talisman for them.”