Pressure is from within London Irish - Clarke Dermody

Dermody has not previously led Irish at the St Patrick's Day Party match

London Irish captain Clarke Dermody says there is no additional pressure on the squad as they prepare for their annual St Patrick's Day Party match.

The Exiles welcome Exeter on Saturday in the Premiership needing a win to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Dermody told BBC Berkshire: "It's why we play the game - to play in front of big crowds and to try to entertain.

"We put pressure on ourselves every week to perform. It's a great occasion and one I've always really enjoyed."

A crowd of more than 21,000 is expected at the Madejski Stadium for the match - the biggest of the season for London Irish.

"This year we've had some ups and downs and I don't know exactly why that is," Dermody admitted. "But it's a lot easier to get up for a big crowd than it is for some other games.

"It's going to be a hard game against Exeter, they've got a lot of confidence.

"They're a team that's not full of stars but they play a brand that really suits their team and they're hard to beat, so we know that we're going to have to be up for it but hopefully we can entertain this crowd."

A win for Irish could see them climb back into the top four of the Premiership, while defeat could see them slip down to ninth. Having lost their lost outing at Leeds, Dermody said the goals for the rest of the season are clear.

"As a club we really want to be in the Heineken Cup and we feel that's where we should be playing our rugby.

"That's where we want to get to at least. We know that at a push we can still get into the top four, but we know we have to play really well and probably win all our remaining games to get there."

London Irish versus Exeter Chiefs kicks off at 1500 GMT on Saturday 26 March and is live on BBC Radio Berkshire.