With an actual cup final to face next week in Bilbao, it almost seems timely, though far from ideal, that Friday’s concluding URC regular-season game against leaders Glasgow Warriors has that same vibe about it.

Ulster, currently eighth in the league table, need a win to bolt down their spot in the play-offs and see off Connacht’s charge. The westerners are a point and place behind and playing in Edinburgh on Friday night.

So, jeopardy aplenty is at play. This is especially so as Richie Murphy’s selection – minus Stuart McCloskey, David McCann and Jacob Stockdale – will be facing a Glasgow side going all out to win and top the table. That would allow them to bank the advantages of home knockout ties should they keep progressing.

A massive game, then, for both participants at the Affidea Stadium. Ulster will be aiming to do their utmost to hunt down a result and keep control of their own destiny regarding the baseline aim of making the URC play-offs.

“We’re in a position now where we need to win or we need the results to go our way to get into that top eight,” said Ulster assistant coach Mark Sexton.

“So, we’re excited for the challenge that Glasgow are going to bring and I have full confidence that we can go and get the win.

“What we’ve said all year is that the next game is the most important one. So, Glasgow is a really big game for us and we want to make sure we’re in the top eight.”

Cardiff – in seventh and on 50 points along with Ulster – host the Stormers on the same evening in a match of significance. Sexton pointed out that while the other games will be monitored – and updates potentially sent to the players – the focus for the province’s coaching team will remain on doing everything to get the job done against Glasgow.

“It’s important that we don’t get sidetracked,” he said. “Until there’s absolute necessity to get a message down there (to the pitch), we won’t be – we’ll just be concentrating on ourselves.

“There are a couple of little situations [in the Connacht and Cardiff games] that will be quite important for the players to know if that event is taking place,” he maintained while re-emphasising that attention will be prioritised on scoring more match points than the Warriors.

With Ulster battling on two fronts and having a shot at ending a 20-year trophy drought next week when they face Montpellier in the Challenge Cup final, Sexton was also keen to mention that despite the province’s high-profile injuries, there is no sense that the squad is running low on belief and vigour. They remain focused and energetic following last week’s 38-38 draw against the Stormers.

“It’s easy when you’re going into a cup final because there’s so much energy around the place and there’s so much excitement,” he said.

“So, we’re certainly full of energy to go and play Glasgow and you’re going into a cup final then, so you’re definitely going to have energy for that.”

Sexton has been credited with the transformation of Ulster’s attack this season. However, he has called for greater consistency now that the business end of the season is here.

“We’ve had moments this season where we’ve been unbelievable and there have been a couple of weeks where we haven’t been. We have [at times] reached our potential, but now it’s about being consistent with it,” he added.