Director of rugby Conor O’Shea has admitted he doesn’t care if Quins win or lose providing they bring their ‘A Game’ to the pitch every time.

The 39-year-old, who oversaw Saturday’s 24-13 defeat at Bath, was unveiled to the media last week after ten days in the post vacated by disgraced former England number eight Dean Richards.

Quins have five games to secure Heineken Cup rugby next season - starting with Newcastle Falcons this weekend - but O’Shea he has no targets except to win every game his side plays.

“Lets not build it up, every game is big. Every time you go out on the pitch you want to win. All the plays know the maths and where we are in the table,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if they win or lose, as long as they have played to the best of their ability. If we bring our A game we’ll be competitive with anyone.

“I want to give the players an environment where they have no excuses and are able to deliver their number one game every time. If they lose doing that, I don’t care.

“The squad achieved a huge amount last year and in my opinion it is only going to mature and fulfil its potential in the next couple of years.”

O’Shea took over the reigns at the Stoop nearly 12 months after Quins crashed 5-6 to Leinster in the Heineken Cup - the game that featured the so-called ‘Bloodgate’ scandal and ultimately led to the departure of Richards.

Chief executive Mark Evans reckons the new man’s arrival is another step on the road to restoring the club’s reputation.

“It would be incredibly naive to think the events of last year will disappear completely. it becomes part of the club’s history like good and bad seasons,” he added.

“It is another staging post. It think it is really difficult to compete in such a competitive arena as the Premiership with a key component of a rugby club not there. The guys have done pretty good job.”

And O’Shea, who watched winger Tom Williams score his first try of a troubled season in the weekend’s defeat, has revealed Richards still has a strong interest in the club where he suffered his catastrophic fall from grace.

He said: “Dean did an enormous amount for this club. He is an icon and legend of English rugby. I’m not him.

“Of course I’ve spoken to him. He is still incredibly passionate about Harlequins which was most striking when I met him.”

Quins’ next three games: Apr 3 Newcastle Falcons (h), 10 Leeds Carnegie (h), 17 Saracens (a, Wembley Stadium).