Alan Gaffney's Saracens challenge ahead of Munster game

Alan Gaffney has challenged his Saracens players to earn the respect of Europe's top teams by pulling off a shock Heineken Cup semi-final victory over Munster.

Despite owner Nigel Wray's £15million investment attracting a host of big names, Saracens have picked up only one trophy in the last decade, the English Cup in 1998.

Director of rugby Gaffney now wants his team to shake off the tag of underachievers, starting with Sunday's clash at Coventry.

"The players set a target last year that they wanted to climb to another level," said Gaffney. "They want to be treated with respect. I've only been here two seasons, but maybe Saracens haven't been treated with an awful lot of respect in the past.

"Now we're managing to compete with the top sides on a regular basis.

"Losing to Gloucester and Wasps in the Premiership recently has been disappointing for us but generally we're getting there.

"We want to be where Wasps or Leicester are. They have the desire to win every game they play and that's where we need to be if we want to be considered in that league."