Saints wary of resurgent Bristol

But the Saints boss says his side must target another victory as they look to further their chances of making the Aviva Premiership play-offs.

Mallinder’s men won 13-12 at Gloucester last Sunday to move nine points behind fourth-placed Bath with 10 matches to play.

It was Saints’ second successive league win and they will now be looking to make it three in a row this weekend.

Buit Bristol have the same aim, having beaten Worcester and Sale during the past two weeks.

And Mallinder said: “We said it’s three massive games and we wanted to go to Gloucester and scrap for a win. You’ve got to do whatever you can to get a win down there.

“We’ve now got Bristol at home this week and they’ve won last Sunday so they’re going to be on a high.

“It’s going to be a tricky game, but we’ve got to look to target it.

“If we can get three wins out of this period then we’ll be moving up the league and in a much better position.”

Saints have still not been beaten in the first game of a new year since 2011.

And Mallinder added: “The win at Gloucester was a very positive start. A very happy new year.

“We only won by a point, but it’s a big point so we were very happy.”