Head Coach Danny Wilson has praised the 'work ethic' and desire of his players to improve this season - and has pinpointed making BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park a really difficult place to visit as crucial.
Cardiff Blues opened the season with an emphatic bonus point victory over Zebre – the same side they face away in Italy this Saturday afternoon in the Guinness PRO12.
Since the opening day of the campaign, Wilson and his men have been on the road and finish a gruelling five-game road trip at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi this weekend.
However, despite a difficult run of away games in Ireland, Wilson remains confident of the progress being made and has expressed his excitement about a return to the Welsh capital next month.
He said: “Coming into this job, I said things would take time and they will. But we have a group of players who are working really hard and there is great buy in and work ethic here.
“I feel we are seeing massive improvements in the style of rugby we are playing and we are seeing that in our analysis of games too.
“Ultimately we need to see that on the scoreboard and although we are closer against the big teams we are still not over the line.
“When we get these teams back at home, and we will get all four Irish teams back on home soil later this season, we have got to be better.
“We want to grow our home record long-term because the teams that finish in the top six in the Guinness PRO12 are those that have strong home records. We need to do that and then pick up points on the road.
“That starts with Glasgow Warriors in a couple of weeks and after that we have league games when we need to start making BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park a tough place to come and get a result for the opposition.”
Reflecting on the last four away games in Ireland that have seen Cardiff Blues push Leinster, Connacht, Munster and Ulster close, Wilson acknowledges it was always going to be a tough test.
“It was important to get that first win and bonus against Zebre. We achieved that and then wanted to go away and be very competitive at the four Irish provinces,” he added.
“In a period when I’m learning about this squad - and they are learning about the new structures we are putting in place - a lot of positives have come in this period. Ultimately, though, it is four losses and you cannot be happy with that.
“Normally you get these away games to Ireland broken up across the season - we have had them all at once and had to deal with that.
“It is now important we get a win on the weekend (against Zebre), use the performances in Ireland as a platform and then we are into home games.
“We are motivated about getting back to BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, getting in front of our home crowd and hopefully getting some points on the board.”
Watch Cardiff Blues face Glasgow Warriors at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, November 7. Tickets are available NOW by calling 02920 302030 or clicking HERE