The coach is quite happy to accept Ulster will be the favourites against Edinburgh on Saturday, once they play that way. JOHN O'SULLIVANreports

BRIAN McLAUGHLIN speaks with the calm, measured tones of a man at peace with his remit in what’s undoubtedly the most important week in Ulster rugby since becoming the first Irish province to lift the European Cup – the tournament predates its current sponsor Heineken – in 1999, a little over 13 years ago. Edinburgh await in a Heineken Cup semi-final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The Ulster coach shields his emotions behind an earnest countenance that occasionally creases into a smile. The team have injury concerns. They start the match as strong favourites, a completely different mental challenge to their quarter-final trip to Thomond Park.

Then there is the massive expectation of the supporters nurtured on a diet of largely excellent performances to this point in the tournament. One by one, McLaughlin eases through the solicitous enquiries about what the short-term playing future of the province might hold.

He starts with the injuries. Scrumhalf Paul Marshall, who missed the RaboDirect Pro12 game against Leinster with an elbow tendon problem, trained with the squad at the University of Jordanstown. Flanker Chris Henry (leg) ran on a “special running machine”, and is expected to take to the grass today.

He concludes this part of the briefing by explaining: “At the minute we are quite hopeful. Everybody else is as is.”

The latter is a reference to number eight Pedrie Wannenburg and centre Paddy Wallace, both of whom failed to finish last weekend’s game against Leinster. The South African resumed training yesterday and Wallace has taken part all week.

Many coaches shy away from the tag of favouritism for fear it will unsettle or bewitch their charges, luring them into a false sense of wellbeing. McLaughlin recognises it for what it is; an opinion that highlights the superior quality of one side based on previous exploits.

He admitted: “If you had said to us way back in August, when we were setting down our goals for the season, we’re going to go and have a semi-final in the Aviva Stadium, playing Edinburgh, we would have taken that hands down.

“I think it is credit to (captain) Johann (Muller) and all the players that we have that favourites tag now. It is something we had wanted and we have coveted. Now we have to make sure that come Saturday we play like true favourites and go on the pitch and do what we did in Munster; which is play to our full potential.

“For me, the biggest fear is we don’t play to our potential. We have an unbelievable opportunity, but we have got to recognise that so do Edinburgh. We have to make sure that we take what we did in Munster and make the best of it by performing to our optimum level this weekend.”

An easy reference point between Saturday’s protagonists at Lansdowne Road is the two matches they have played this season in the Pro12.

Ulster doled out significant beatings to their Scottish opponents on both occasions.

McLaughlin offloads neatly under the simple premise that Edinburgh’s results in the league (poor) and Europe (very good) couldn’t offer a more pronounced contrast. “They (Edinburgh) seem to have put a lot of emphasis on to Europe and their record there is excellent.

“They won their group; we didn’t. They had a home quarter-final; we didn’t.

“They put out a French team and also in their group beat a French team away; that is something we have never done. So, it is going to be an exceptionally tough game and it is important we keep that in perspective. I think at the moment we deserve a semi-final appearance. That is where we are at the minute and whether we deserve a final appearance is down to how we perform on Saturday.”

When asked what he might say in addressing the Ulster supporters, the coach smiled: “I think the message I have for them is to make sure they have a great day. It is going to be a fantastic occasion for them; we want to make sure we give them the day that they want.

“That is very, very important for us and we hope they turn up in their droves. You have to keep everything in perspective. It is a game of rugby we are going down to play. Yes, it is a hugely important one but the more important and the more demands that you put on the players then the likelihood is the more nervous they’ll get.

“It is a matter of keeping cool, calm and collected and then making sure they arrive down in Dublin to play at their best, as they did in Thomond Park.”

Their coach, for the time being at least, is a pretty decent role model in that respect.

ULSTER (squad v Edinburgh): Forwards: C Black, T Court, D Fitzpatrick, A Macklin, P McAllister, A Kyriacou, N Brady, R Best, L Stevenson, J Muller (captain), D Tuohy, I Henderson, N McComb, S Ferris, W Faloon, P Wannenburg, M McComish, C Henry, R Diack; B McIlroy. Backs: R Pienaar, I Porter, P Marshall, I Humphreys, P Jackson, P Wallace, I Whitten, D Cave, L Marshall, N Spence, S Terblanche, C Gilroy, C Gaston, A Trimble, A D’Arcy.