Ulster will wait until the last possible minute before making a decision on Tommy Bowe's involvement in tomorrow night's Heineken Cup clash with London Irish.
The Ireland international is recovering from a back spasm and will undergo a fitness test later today and a further examination tomorrow morning ahead of the must win match at Ravenhill.
While qualification is not mathematically impossible, Ulster have it all to do to progress from the pool stages for the first time since 1999 and nothing less than a bonus point win will suffice in front of a sell-out crowd following last weekend's disappointing defeat in Reading.
"Our aim is to deliver a better performance than we did at the weekend, recognise the areas where we need a big, big improvement and improve on those areas and be smarter in the way we play," said coach Mark McCall.
Should Bowe, who has only just returned to the side following a lengthy lay-off with a hamstring injury, fail to make it Mark Bartholomeusz is on standby. The only change to the side that lost in the Madjeski Stadium sees Justin Fitzpatrick take over from Bryan Young at loosehead.
Ulster(v London Irish): B Cunningham ; T Bowe / M Bartholomeusz, P Steinmetz, P Wallace, A Trimble; D Humphreys, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best, S Best (C); J Harrison, M McCullough; N Best, K Dawson, R Wilson. Replacements: P Shields, B Young, T Barker, N McMillan; K Campbell, K Maggs, Scott Young
