Harlequins may not have given up on a top four Premiership finish, but director of rugby Conor O’Shea admits beating Leicester Tigers tomorrow holds the key to his side’s domestic ambitions.

The Stoop chief will welcome back the heavy artillery this weekend with England captain Chris Robshaw leading the charge as he returns from a month out with a shoulder injury.

The 28-year-old had been expected to be sidelined until next week’s Champions Cup clash with Wasps, but has returned ahead of schedule as Quins bid to give hopes of a top four Premiership finish a boost.

Also returning after missing Saturday’s 24-13 win at London Welsh are fly half Nick Evans, lock George Robson, full back Mike Brown, winger Ugo Monye and prop Joe Marler, with scrum half Danny Care expected to start having been on the bench for the the exiles clash.

Quins’ campaign has been marred by inconsistency as they have shone in Europe this term, yet struggled for form in the English top flight.

But O’Shea believes the narrow 35-30 Big Game defeat to Northampton Saints was a sign his men had turned a corner and woe betide any team that crosses them in the second half of the campaign – starting with the Tigers.

“It is nice to have the senior players back, but it is a squad game,” said O’Shea.

“It is a massive game for us, we know that and there is no getting away from that.

“We know that if we win we are right back in the mix.”

He added: “I think we turned a corner against Northampton Saints over Christmas.

“We know we are successful when we got for it and that approach will win us games of rugby.

From back page “We played a lot more rugby than we have in a long time at the weekend.

“We carried more, we passed more and made more line breaks and that is all down to our ambition to play.”

Quins take on Wasps and then Castres in the Champions Cup over the next fortnight and O’Shea reckoned the result tomorrow would do nothing for his side’s focus.

“Your next game is always a big game, that is just the way it is,” he added.

“Win or lose tomorrow we will reassess where we are in three weeks’ time.

“The Premiership is so tight at the moment and it is a hugely competitive league and there remains a long way to go.”

Tries from Karl Dickson, Marland Yarde, Kyle Sinckler and Tom Williams at the Kassam stadium saw Quins bounce back from the disappointment of defeat to Northampton at Twickenham last month.

“I am pleased with the ambition we are showing and the players are showing that they are going for it,” said O’Shea.

“If we keep playing like that we are going to win a heck of a lot of games.

“The young lads have come in and learned a huge amount and that will help us. It is a squad game.”