Josh Ibuanokpe claims Saracens will be competing until the very end despite being relegated from the Gallagher Premiership this season.

Their devastating points deduction for breaching wage cap regulations means the club will be relegated to the Greene King IPA Championship at the end of the current campaign.

The writing is on the wall for Mark McCall’s side, but with seemingly nothing left to play for in the Gallagher Premiership, Ibuanokpe is adamant one thing will keep the squad motivated, ahead of this evening's trip to play Wasps. 

“Personal pride. A lot of the time we try to ignore the points deduction and see where we actually are in the table,” he said.

“So, right now, we are sitting second. We just worry about our rugby side because the points deduction has not got anything to do with us.

“From above, they just want us to take every game as we can. We have still got a job to do, you can’t grumble and throw games. That doesn’t help us short term or long term.

“It is a very unpredictable situation. The situation is very volatile, so I think they have done really well to try and alleviate the pressure on everyone.”

Sarries have won seven of their ten Gallagher Premiership matches this season, as well as having a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final to look forward to against Leinster in April, despite the turbulent season off the field.  

And the 24-year-old revealed the points deduction is not a taboo topic around the training, with players encouraged to talk openly about the issue.

He said: “Everyone is really open about how they feel, I think that is one of the best things about the place.

“We are encouraged to talk openly and freely about how we feel about it, because it is quite an emotional roller coaster.

“But I think that gives everyone clarity to then park it or speak to someone you trust about it when you need to. But when it is time to work, it is time to work.”

Saracens head into this weekend’s match against Wasps on the back of an impressive performance in their 35-22 victory against Sale last time out, and Ibuanokpe is keen to follow up that result with another win.

He said: “We have got a short turn around, so I think that is obviously going to have an impact on just how many training days we have, how many rest days.

“We just want to try and back up the performance and tailor our processes to the threats that Wasps have.”