Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care reckons wins over London Irish and Northampton Saints will count for nothing should they slip up against Wasps on Saturday.

The 24-year-old England scrum-half collected an early birthay present in scoring the decisive try as Quins upset the Premiership leaders 16-13 to move within touching distance of the top four at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.

And Care fears director of rugby Conor O’Shea’s men, who drew with Wasps on the opening day of the campaign, will be back to where they started should they fail to claim the spoils.

“Another win should put us where we want to be - in the top four,” he said.

“We’ve proved we can beat the best teams in the league and have backed up Conor’s belief we have the potential to be a great team.

“The two wins over Christmas will count for nothing if we don’t back it up with a big performance against Wasps.

A win over their London rivals at Stoop will make it seven wins from their last nine games after the back-to-back wins over the festive period.

And Care believes the squad’s current form is a sign they have come to terms with the physical demands of what will be one of the tightest title races in the competition’s history.

“We will be the first to admitted we were physically dominated against Saracens and we have learnt from that,” he added.

“We were up against the ropes at the weekend - particularly when we were down to 13 men - and everyone put in a shift.

“Wasps are a very physical side with some big, powerful runners, but we have shown we are more than a match for anyone up front and in the backs these days.”

Quins’ next three games: Jan 8 London Wasps (h) 15 I Cavalieri Estra (European Challenge Cup, a) , 22 Bayonne (European Challenge Cup, h).