THE odds are stacking up against Sale as they bid to qualify for the next round of the Heineken Cup but last season's beaten quarter-finalists refuse to accept that their European dream is over.

Defeats against Ospreys and Stade Francais have left Sharks in third place in their group and they now need to win all their remaining games with bonus points to guarantee qualification.

Two teams qualify from each group with the two best third-place finishers also making it through to the next stage of the prestigious competition and head coach Kingsley Jones is as determined as ever to ensure Sale are up there with the rest of Europe's elite when the draw is made for the next round.

Jones said: "We have to be positive. We can still qualify for the next round but it is going to be hard.

"It was disappointing to come back from France with nothing.

"We deserved at least a losing bonus point and at one point I felt we might even have won.

Tiring

"Towards the end I felt they were tiring and we were playing well.

"I thought we put in our best performance of the last three or four weeks against Stade and I was very pleased with the effort the guys put in.

"We made a couple of mistakes but a side like Stade Francais will always punish you when you slip up. You can't afford to give a player like Christophe Dominici any chances because he is a world class finisher and he will make you pay for your mistakes."

This Sunday's return leg against Stade Francais is a `do or die' affair.

Not only do Sale need to win but they need to score at least four tries to secure the bonus point, a task made all the more difficult with Sale's extensive injury list which includes chief playmaker Charlie Hodgson, back row star Jason White and the formidable front row presence of Andrew Sheridan.

And Mark Cueto joined that list yesterday when a scan revealed he picked up a slight tear to his adductor muscle during Sunday's defeat in Paris and will be out until next month.

Jones added: "We have now got a chance to set the record straight on Sunday.

"We need a massive performance and we will have our fans behind us."

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