But James Lang - who was announced yesterday as the club’s player of the month for March - believes the squad will still be highly motivated for their last two remaining matches of the season, at home to the Ospreys tomorrow [Saturday] and then away to Ulster next week.

Head coach Mike Blair is about to stand down, and 13 senior players are set to leave the squad at the end of the season, and Scotland centre Lang thinks that rounding off the current campaign with a couple of victories would be the ideal send-off for those imminent departures. “We’re not where we want to be,” the 28-year-old said. “We’re not where we thought we would be coming off the back of a good season last year. We’ve had a few losses now, so the important thing is to perform well for the fans in the next couple of games so we can finish the season on a high - where we know we should be.

“We’re going to fight for each other right to the end. The Ospreys match is the last home game of the season and we’re sending off a few good boys that have been around for a while, so we should be able to get up for that quite easily.”

James Lang trains with Edinburgh ahead of the final home match of the season against Ospreys. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

Lang joined Edinburgh from Harlequins in the summer of 2021, around the same time as Blair was appointed head coach. Asked whether he was apprehensive about having a new boss, he insisted his only concern at present was ensuring a winning send-off for the incumbent.

“To be honest, I’ve not really thought about that too much,” he added. “I get on really well with Mike and I think he’s a world-class coach. It will be sad to see him leave, because he’s a great guy as well. We’re focusing on getting two good performances out of the lads and get the wins - and send Mike off the way he deserves.”

Edinburgh motivated to give Mike Blair a winning home send-off against Ospreys

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