SALE boss Kingsley Jones is set to ring in the new five days ahead of tradition when Sale travel to play Leicester Tigers this Sunday.

Still on a high from their Heineken Cup double over Harlequins, the Sale director of rugby will make sweeping changes to his side for the visit to the defending Guinness Premiership champions.

England duo Mark Cueto and Mathew Tait, Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel, his compatriot prop Eifion Roberts and skipper Dean Schofield are just some of the big names who will be absent from the Sale team-sheet for the clash in front of a 24,000 sell-out crowd at Welford Road.

Mindful of a season-defining month ahead; Jones has opted to radically rotate his team for the daunting trip to the East Midlands in order to try and maximize his returns over the next five demanding weeks.

Though the strategy may raise more than a few eyebrows outside Edgeley Park; Jones is unapologetic about the policy.

"Yes, there will be changes from the last few weeks but when you see the likes of Kristian Ormsby back along with Richard Wigglesworth, who is champing at the bit to have a chance, Sean Cox, Chris Jones, James Gaskell... these are all guys who are top-quality players," Jones pointed out.

"I've got to try and keep them all keen and fresh. We're in a good position injury-wise with people like Kristian; Jonny Kennedy and David Doherty all back in the mix. Those guys are desperate for an opportunity and they will get it this weekend as there are a few positions up for grabs.

"In terms of resting Mark and Mathew; I have to rest them for one of the next four games under the terms of the Elite Player Squad agreement with England and this one seemed to be the obvious match to select.

"We've got a massive month ahead of us as, after Leicester, we play Quins; Saracens; Cardiff Blues and Toulouse and we want to target every one of those games as they are all huge for us.

"But, ultimately; you've got to win your home games and with Quins coming to Edgeley Park again on New Year's Day and with the game being live on TV, we simply have to win that one."

While Sale have been blazing the trail on the European front, their league position is still a cause for concern and hasn't been helped by the refusal of Wasps to play at Stockport late last month.

 As a result, whilst some of their mid-table rivals have leap-frogged them and gained vital points from playing an extra game, Sale have slipped down to ninth and now find themselves playing catch-up - much to the annoyance of their boss.

"I don't like looking at Teletext and seeing us down there in the table but we have got a game in hand and this league is very, very tight," the former Wales captain added.

"We're nearly at the halfway stage of the season and we'll go to Leicester with everything to play for and nothing to lose as we won't be favourites but, as we have seen so often this season, every team in the Premiership is capable of winning on the day if their attitude is right.

"We've had a good four or five weeks but we haven't arrived anywhere yet. We've won a couple of games so we'll take the confidence from that but we need to remain humble and keep working as hard as we have been."

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