Boss Danny Wilson conceded the upcoming home double-header with Leinster and Ulster was now 'massive' - and insists Cardiff Blues have to aim to secure two wins if they have ambition of climbing the Guinness PRO12 table.
Cardiff Blues were left to count the cost of missed opportunities as bottom side Benetton Treviso claimed a narrow 13-7 win in Italy on Saturday.
It was a bitter pill for Wilson and his men to swallow as Cardiff Blues dominated the final quarter but squandered chances to snatch victory.
Cardiff Blues now return to BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - where they have lost only one league game all season - on Saturday when they face Leinster Rugby.
And Wilson has left is team under no illusion as to what he expects on the return to home soil.
“It now becomes massive that we win both against Leinster and Ulster at home,” he said. “We’ve got to take advantage of being at home, and we are capable of doing that.
“We’ve missed a massive opportunity over in Treviso, with sides around us in the league losing.
“I’m bitterly disappointed, but at the same time it’s a good lesson for a young team and squad that will play this period now.
“We’ll never get that many chances again to score a try,” admitted Wilson. “We’ve got to look at why we’ve created so many opportunities and we’re not scoring.
“It’s a different surface for us to play on, it’s a very wet and muddy pitch in Italy, but we still backed ourselves to score and should have.
“We’ve shown this season that we can score points, but against Treviso we did everything but score tries.
“What we’ve got to learn from it is if we create the same opportunities again, and defend in the same manner, we’ve simply got to finish.”