Having ended the first half of a potentially momentous campaign having risen to the heady heights of third place, Sale boss Steve Diamond has challenged his players to kick on and achieve his goal of securing Heineken Cup rugby for next season.

Boxing Day’s 27-19 triumph at home to Newcastle helped fire the resurgent Sharks back into the top four of the Premiership in front of more than 9,000 fans – Sale’s biggest home attendance in two and half years.

Now Diamond wants to capitalise on the feel good factor flooding back through the club with more major signings and announcements due in the next week or so following a testing New Year’s Day visit to Leicester Tigers.

"The lads have got two or three days off and then we’ll come together again and set the goal set for the next five or six months and see where we can get to," said the Sharks executive director of sport.

"It now becomes realistic what we can do. We didn’t really know in September but now we know we’ve got the makings of a good side.

"There are one or two additions who have joined us and one or two more who will be announced in the New Year and they will make us an even stronger team with more leaders.

"The top six is a realistic target for us this season and we would be happy with that. If we got to the top four we would be over-achieving I think.

"What’s really encouraging is that the lads have really come together behind the scenes. We’re not the best team in the world and we know that."

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