Sharkey seeks Saints stay

Mark Robinson wants to stay at Northampton even if they are relegated this weekend.

Northampton Saints scrum-half Mark Robinson has told skysports.com he wants to stay at Franklin's Gardens regardless of which division the club finds itself in next season.

The Kiwi half-back has been a real driving force for Northampton this season, top-scoring with 11 tries - eight of which have come in the Guinness Premiership.

Robinson would swap all of that for a match-winner against London Irish on Saturday though, but he insists his loyalties will remain with Saints even if they suffer relegation at the weekend.

"I'm certainly dedicated to the club and want to stay at the club regardless of what happens," he said in an exclusive interview with skysports.com.

"There's a number of guys here who feel the same so that's great."

Northampton need to better Worcester's result against Saracens on Saturday to avoid the drop, but Robinson insists he does not want to know how things are going at Sixways.

After suffering semi-final heartbreak to Wasps in the Heineken Cup last weekend, the 31-year-old insists every player is now solely focused on ending their six-match winless streak in league competition.

"The mood's good, the mood's very positive - we're very aware of how major the game is and how important it is," said Robinson, who scored Saints' winning try in their last Premiership triumph at Leicester.

"The guys are good, even though we're coming off a couple of losses to Wasps, the way we've been playing has been a big boost for the confidence and belief.

"It was disappointing not to get a result (at Wasps) but after the Heineken Cup semi-final the guys were just like 'right, we've got a job to do next weekend - we've got one week left so let's do it properly.

"It has kind of re-focused everything and now we're moving on to the most important game of our year."

A capacity Franklin's Gardens crowd will attempt to sweep their men to victory against the Exiles, and Robinson admits the players are desperate to respond.

Saints will go looking for the kind of explosive start that saw them build a 13-0 lead against Wasps a week ago, although Robinson urged his colleagues to keep their heads.

"We want to start well on Saturday, we don't want to be chasing, we want to lay the foundation down.

"Whatever points are on offer we want to take them because we are going all out to win - that's for sure.

"Once we get out there and get settled we must play with our heads because if you play with your heart - albeit the two can be a good combo - you have to play smart and make sure you're doing certain things which are best for the team.

"You need a balance, your heart is your determination - your drive, whereas your head is making the right decisions.

"The Franklin's faithful have stuck through everything so we want to do them proud and put smiles back on their faces."

Watch all the drama unfold on Saturday, with live coverage of Worcester v Saracens and live updates from Northampton v London Irish - live on Sky Sports 3.