Ulster v Connacht: We won't be satisfied until we end long trophy wait, says Dan McFarland

Ulster head coach Dan McFarland has said he does not judge himself solely on trophies but insists he and his players will not rest until they end the club's long wait for silverware.

McFarland is Ulster's longest-serving coach of the professional era.

Under him, Ulster came closest to a first trophy since 2006 when they lost the 2020 league final to Leinster.

Despite high-profile disappointments, McFarland's belief that Ulster are good enough to win titles remains undimmed.

Reflecting on his time so far as the province's head coach, the 51-year-old said: "I remember when I first joined, the club was in a pretty tough position. Coming in, there were a group of people here, support staff and players who were really keen to do well. They had a number of things they wanted to push for and stand for, like fighting for every inch and squeezing every drop.

"The group was really tight, the difficulties they'd been through, so it was a brilliant place to work.

"We put together a really good bunch of guys, a lot of whom are still here. They've done really well together and we've become very competitive. We've played a lot of play-off games and have been very close to touching silverware.

"That's been successful, but we all know and I say it all the time, our biggest goal is to be lifting the silver at the end of the season and there will be no satisfaction until we do that.

"We'll judge what we do and how we're doing it along the line, and we'll be pleased with certain aspects of what we do, but we'll also look at how we can take the extra step, we're always doing that."

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McFarland, who was previously assistant coach at Connacht, Glasgow and Scotland before taking the Ulster job, last year signed a contract extension keeping him at Kingspan Stadium until the end of the 2024-25 season.

Last season, he dismissed speculation linking him with the then vacant Leicester Tigers head coach position - which was subsequently filled by Dan McKellar - and insists he does not think about his future beyond his current deal.

"I don't know, to be honest. My contract is the rest of this year and next year. I love it in Ulster, I enjoy my time here and I don't think any further ahead than that."

This season, McFarland and Ulster have made another significant push for silverware by signing two-time World Cup-winning Springboks prop Steven Kitshoff.

McFarland and his coaching staff have also endeavoured to introduce a more expansive brand of rugby this season with the hope that, coupled with the new artificial Kingspan Stadium surface, it would make them a faster and more cohesive unit.

While they have encountered road bumps - three successive losses before Saturday's Champions Cup win over Racing 92 - the coach remains steadfast in his belief that Ulster can compete for the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup titles provided they continue to consistently improve.

But while McFarland has a clear desire to bring trophies to Ulster, he will not measure success solely on silverware.

"No, absolutely not. You don't do that and you can't do that because you're not in control of that. I'll judge myself and the team on what we're in control of.

"We can't control how good the other teams are, we can only control how good we are. We assess our potential and we strive towards that the whole time. If we consistently improve towards that then we're pleased with ourselves but that doesn't mean you're not aiming for the silver, that's always the goal and we always where can we get to in terms of how good we can be.

"I believe if we push the limits of our potential we should always be there or thereabouts at the end of the season and pushing for those honours, you just need to produce the goods on the day."

'Festive period is an angry period for players'

McFarland says he expects to face an 'angry' Connacht side on Friday, for whom fit-again Ireland star Mack Hansen is expected to feature

Having returned to winning ways against Racing on Saturday, Ulster hope to secure back-to-back wins when they welcome Connacht to Belfast on Friday evening.

And while they have Boxing Day off this season, Ulster begin 2024 with a daunting trip to Dublin to face Leinster before resuming their European campaign with games against Toulouse and Harlequins.

When asked if the Irish derbies during the festive period give him the same level of buzz as a big European win, McFarland said: "The Irish derbies at Christmas are always really important.

"It's a festive period but for the players on the pitch, it's an angry period. It's a rivalry period. There's a little paradox there in the festivities and certainly the meanness on the pitch. But I love that. I love the Christmas games."

McFarland suffered one of the most disappointing defeats of his Ulster reign in May when Connacht ran out 15-10 winners in the URC quarter-final while the Galway-based side also edged this season's meeting at the Sportsground 22-20 after Ulster had led 20-3.

And McFarland expects to face an "angry" Connacht given they have lost five of their six games since beating Ulster in early November.

"When you go down to Connacht, as we normally do around Christmas, that's a really tough fixture but we've done really well in that over the past number of years," says McFarland.

"When they come up here, they have the exact same attitude. They've lost four games in a row, they're hungry and need a win. It's similar to when they came up for the quarter-final last year. What have they got to lose? They're going to throw everything at this game.

"They've played really good teams the last two weeks but they'll still be angry and that's something we have to deal with, but we harbour our own emotional content after what's happened before, so we'll be looking to put that on the pitch."