Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Rob Andrew has insisted that last season’s Powergen Cup final win over Sale Sharks will bear no relevance as his team travel to Edgeley Park for Friday’s Zurich Premiership clash (kick-off 7.45pm).

It was back in April that the Falcons claimed a dramatic 37-33 victory at Twickenham to clinch the trophy and the bonus of Heineken Cup rugby, but Andrew stated: “The Cup final was a long time ago, and things have changed a lot since then.

“It’s a distant memory for both teams, although an altogether happier one for us. But it’s not relevant at all on Friday night, because it’s just yet another big Premiership game.”

Andrew’s men go into the match on the back of Heineken Cup wins over Newport Gwent Dragons and Perpignan, although it is back to domestic duties this time out.

“We’re not too bothered which competition it is, to be honest. You just get on with what’s in front of you,” he said.

“We knew the Heineken Cup was coming up when it did, and it probably arrived at a good time for us because our Premiership form was faltering. Europe gave us a different focus and a lift, but that’s now gone. We have to get back to the Premiership, where we have four very important games coming up, and so we’re looking forward to it.”

The Falcons give a debut to openside flanker Cory Harris, with Andrew saying of the former Celtic Warrior: “Cory came up this week, and it’s really good that we can put him straight into the team at a time when Colin Charvis is away with Wales.

“He comes into a position where we needed to change things a little, because we’ve lost Warren Britz and Andy Mower already this season there, and we haven’t operated with an out-and-out openside, which I think this team needs. Some of our best rugby in the past has been when we’ve had a real top quality No.7 out there, and we feel Cory can be that man for us now.

“He’s fit, strong and he’s been playing every week – sometimes twice a week for Bridgend – so there are no worries in that regard. I think in this situation the best way is probably to throw him straight in at the deep end, and he’s trained well this week, so we’re confident he will do well on Friday.”

With Sale flying high at second in the Premiership after six wins from seven, Andrew said: “The form book probably says we’re underdogs, and the form is good fun for bookies, but we’re confident of doing well, and we’ll just have to see how it goes.

“They have big threats with the likes of Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal, but we will be aiming to upset them and take it from there.”

Of the approach needed, he added: “We know all about their counter attacks with the likes of Jason Robinson and Mark Cueto, and tactically we know we can’t kick ball down their throats as they will cause us trouble that way.

“In the last two games our tactics have been smarter than at almost any time, and Dave Walder at fly half been outstanding in there. The rest of the team have got right behind him, and we’ll be looking for a good balance between forward play and attacks from the backs on Friday. We want control upfront and pace behind, and I believe we will be a handful.”

After Sunday’s win over Perpignan the Falcons faced a tight schedule this week, with Andrew saying: “Playing on a Sunday and then the next Friday means we have had the shortest training week that we could possibly have, but that’s just something we have to deal with.

“It’s also been tough with the international boys being away Monday and Tuesday, while Sale have almost had two weeks off as they rested a lot of their players in the European Challenge Cup games.

“On the one hand that means the Sale guys are fresh, but on the other hand they haven’t been playing at the same intensity as us in the last fortnight, so we’ll just have to wait and see if it affects either team at all.”

With Friday’s game seeing yet another away sell-out, Andrew joked: “I’m pleased to see we’re still selling out everyone else’s stadiums, and we should be asking for a cut of the gate this season as we have had sell-outs every time we’ve played away.

“But in all seriousness Edgeley Park has become a great venue for Sale, much bigger and better than Heywood Road, and we know the sort of atmosphere that will await us there.”