Edinburgh full-back Chris Paterson believes his side can continue their upward progression by wrestling the Magners League title away from champions Munster this season.

Only eight points separated Irish side Munster from Edinburgh last season as the Scottish side achieved their best ever Celtic league finish of second place.

And 31-year-old Paterson – who has 95 caps for Scotland – is convinced the winning mentality instilled by former coach Andy Robinson can still inspire his side to bigger and better things.

He said: “We have all the normal pressures of a new season combined with the extra expectation from last season.

“We had a really good finish to last season because Andy Robinson kept us working harder than any team we played against and gave us that belief that we could win.

“We are feeling confident and looking at ourselves rather than worrying about what anyone else is doing.

“Last season we were pushing for second place at the end of the season – this season we want it to be first.”