WORCESTER Warriors look to take a huge step towards gaining a place in the European Challenge Cup quarter-finals when they host Connacht tomorrow (3pm).

Head coach Carl Hogg admits the outcome of the Pool Five clash at Sixways will be “pivotal” to Warriors’ hopes of progressing to the knockouts for the first time since 2009.

Worcester are seven points adrift of leaders Connacht but could go through as one of the three best runners-up.

As things stand, Hogg’s side occupy one of those coveted second-placed slots after securing 12 points from their first four games.

But he understands the significance of getting another win on the board before visiting third-placed Brive the following Saturday.

“It is a pivotal match,” said Hogg whose team are five points clear of Brive.

“I think mathematically we can still progress if we don’t get the right result but we want to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Bath.

“Winning is a habit and we clearly want to build momentum, whether that’s through the Aviva Premiership or the challenge cup.

“It’s an opportunity for us to rectify a poor performance and get that feel-good factor back again.”

Connacht have won all four fixtures in the competition, including a 15-8 victory over Warriors at The Sportsground in October.

The Irish outfit sit in fifth place in Conference A of the Guinness Pro14 and Hogg is wary of their “lethal” threats in attack.

“It was very windy when we played them at their place,” Hogg said.

“But we showed a huge amount of resilience and effort out there and narrowly lost that contest against a good side.

“We know how lethal they can be with ball in hand.

"If you look at their results over the Christmas period when they played Leinster, Munster and Ulster they were all very competitive games so it is a huge challenge for us.

“They have done well in the cup and in the Pro14 so we are under no illusions how tough it will be.

“But it’s not necessarily about Connacht. It’s about how we react from last week’s disappointment and we will use that as fuel for the game.”