Edinburgh want to "knock Glasgow off their perch" - Stuart McInally

Stuart McInally has been in great form for club and country this season

Stuart McInally says beating Glasgow Warriors would represent a significant statement of where Edinburgh are going under head coach Richard Cockerill.

Edinburgh defeated their old rivals in the last game of last season, though Warriors regained the 1872 Cup 43-41 on aggregate over the two legs.

Dave Rennie's side have won 10 from 10 in Pro14 and Scotland hooker McInally says Edinburgh are desperate to inflict their first league defeat of the term.

"It would be huge," McInally said.

"If we could be the team to knock them off their perch that would be a massive sign that this club is moving in the right direction."

The format of the 1872 Cup has changed this season, adopting a 'best of three' system in which the team who wins more of the three league meetings takes the trophy.

McInally says head coach Cockerill is relishing the inter-city rivalry with Glasgow

Saturday's match at Murrayfield will be a first taste of the inter-city rivalry for Rennie and his Edinburgh counterpart Cockerill, each of whom took up their new posts in the summer.

McInally says the derby match has got Cockerill's competitive fires burning.

"You can tell he's pretty excited," he told BBC Scotland.

"He wants to just see where we're at. It'll be a reflection on the club as a whole. As players we'll look to go out and make sure we put on a good performance for him, for the fans and everyone involved in Edinburgh Rugby.

"He's worked really hard since he's arrived, in turn the players have worked hard so we have to go out and make sure that hard work transfers into a good performance. You can tell he loves a derby game."

After three standout performances in the autumn Test series against Samoa, New Zealand and Australia, many feel that McInally is the leading contender to wear the number two jersey for Scotland in the upcoming Six Nations.

His chief rival for that berth will probably be Warriors hooker Fraser Brown, a player McInally is likely to be in direct competition against on Saturday.

"I know Fraser really well and I'll look forward to having a good battle with him," McInally added.

Lewis Carmichael has agreed a new contract with Edinburgh

"I get on well with him, I respect him and he's a very good player. He's a really good defender and ball-carrier, a really good scrummager and thrower as well. I'll look forward to testing myself against him.

"For us to beat Glasgow we'll have to be at our very best. They're a quality side with a good set of forwards and a brilliant set of backs. We know we're going to be up against it.

"If we can put in a really good performance and turn them over then it would certainly be an indication this club is moving forward."

Edinburgh received a signing boost ahead of Saturday's match with the news that 22-year-old second rower Lewis Carmichael has signed a new deal that will keep him at the club until at least 2020.

Carmichael has made 21 appearances for the club and scored a try on Saturday as Edinburgh hammered Krasny Yar 78-0 in the European Challenge Cup.