McDermott says his side's progress has not been helped by injuries

Harlequins head coach Brian McDermott says his side needs momentum as they look to maintain a play-off place.

Harlequins are sixth and face Catalan Dragons on the back of four straight defeats and with key personnel missing.

"I'd rather not finish eighth, but if that's what we do, [we need to] do it with momentum and playing well," McDermott told BBC London 94.9.

"It's about how you're playing - it's no good limping into fifth or fourth place if you're not playing well."

Last year, Harlequins lost five consecutive games in mid-season and eventually finished ninth.

With St Helens the next visitors to the Twickenham Stoop , a win in Perpignan could be crucial to McDermott's side's hopes of holding on to a top-eight spot.

"We're doing some correction and addressing some issues within the team," said McDermott. "But I think we'd be crazy not to mention we've got some personnel out.

"Your attitude to preparation and how you go about things doesn't change. No one is walking around nervously, twitching or [thinking] the wheels are coming off. We've been on the wrong end of four results now, and two of them were very close.

"We've got eight games left, and within those games there's enough time to get our personnel back and gain some momentum."

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