Conor O'Shea says his replacement - whoever they might be - will inherit a squad on the up if they claim the European Challenge Cup crown.

Quins entertain French Top 14 side Grenoble in the semi-finals at the Stoop tonight looking to book a place in May's final, having seen their Premiership title hopes all but disappear.

Director of rugby O'Shea, who steps down to become Italy's new head coach in the summer, watched his men crash 22-12 to Saracens at Wembley on Saturday to leave them nine points adrift of a top four league finish with two games to play.

Success in Europe and a top six finish would be a significant improvement on last term's disappointment and O'Shea believes any momentum his men can gather over the next month can pave the way for more next season.

"We have to go on and win because we want to finish the year on a high," he said.

"The last emotion you have from one season is what you carry forward to the next. We won the Amlin Cup in 2011 and the Premiership the following year.

"We have done lots of things so well this season in terms of the squad and the way we have played.

"The Six Nations cost us. There will never be another run of eight games in a row like we had then and we lost momentum, which was frustrating.

"We are going to have to fight very hard against Grenoble. You don't get many chances to win silverware in your career. We have that chance and must take it."