Bristol finished top of the table in 2020 and reached the Twickenham final but went on to suffer a second-half collapse, against Saturday’s opponents Harlequins, to lose out on the title. It means they are still chasing a first Premiership trophy.
They come into this weekend’s match in inconsistent form, with two wins in their past six games stretching back to 22 March.
Harlequins are seventh and have little at stake with a play-off finish already out of reach.
“I’m really proud of this group, we’ve got one of the smallest groups in the competition and we haven’t left the top four all season. We got in the top four round one and we’ve stayed in there,” Lam said.
“The only achievement we want is a win – none of that means anything if we drop out in the very last round. The boys are pretty focussed and looking forward [to it].”
A year ago, Bristol came into the final match of the campaign – also against Harlequins – needing a win but for results elsewhere to also go their way and they ultimately fell short, finishing fifth.
Lam said he would not be tracking any other match updates on Saturday, solely focusing on their home game.
“I don’t care what happens anywhere else apart from at Ashton Gate and that’s a good place to be compared to last year,” Lam said.
“The dangerous teams are those that have nothing to play for. For us it’s about focusing on us and what we can bring to the game, ideally that reflects the excitement and determination and hunger to win this game.”
