Kristian Dacey insists the Cardiff Blues squad are hungry for the opportunity to "put things right" as they take on Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday.
John Mulvihill’s side suffered defeat at the hands of Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun last week, but travel to Belfast looking to gain momentum ahead of back-to-back European encounters against English champions, Saracens.
The hooker says the team have been brutally honest with themselves in the build-up to today’s Guinness PRO14 clash, and he is excited for the opportunity to test himself against the Northern Irish-outfit.
“To be brutally honest, we’ve had real honest truths in the meetings this week, and we’re not happy as a team so we want to put it right when we face Ulster this week,” said the Welsh international.
“It’s a tough place to visit, but these are the challenges that are set every week. The league isn’t easy anymore, and there are no easy teams in there either.
“There aren’t any easy games around, but we feel like we need to put things right after last week’s performance.
“The boys have responded really well this week. We came in on Monday, looked at last week’s game and at times, we were outmuscled.
“As a forward back or as a back-line, we take that to heart. The team we have here have shown that we’re better than that over the last two years.
“Players really stepped up going into the full-contact sessions in training this week. We’re building nicely into Ulster and hopefully we can continue that on the pitch.
“We’re in the middle of a run of three tough away games on the bounce, and you can lose the supporters aspect of it. But as a group of players we have to stay tight and pull ourselves through it.”
Dacey believes Wales’ Capital Region can draw inspiration from their win over Munster earlier in the season, as they bounced back from a three-game losing streak to claim a stunning bonus point victory over the Irish province.
The hooker said: “We’ve been through tough patches before. I’ve been here for eight years now, and have been through the hardships.
“It’s going to take players like myself to pull us out of that dark place and get us on the front foot on Saturday.
“Hopefully we can get the backs to do what they do best and what they’ve shown that they’re capable of over the last two years.
“We have a real attacking flair in the side, and hopefully that can lead to some tries and get the result.
“We’ve lost some key players, and as a leadership group, they’ve met up and seen that it’s about developing everyone as a leader, not just those in that group.
“Everyone who is on that field has a voice and we need to use them come Ulster on Saturday. As long as we concentrate on ourselves and our performance, the result will take care of itself.”