Director of rugby Geoff Richards says it is up to his Richmond men to motivate themselves as they approach the end of the season with little to play for.

The Athletic Ground outfit are well clear of the Division Two South drop-zone and a massive 43 points adrift of the promotion battle currently being fought between Barking, Ealing and Rosslyn Park.

Richmond finished fourth last season following a barnstorming end to the campaign and Richards wants a repeat of those efforts as they bid to salvage some pride from an otherwise disappointing campaign.

“There is only one person that is going to motivate the players over the remainder of the season and that is themselves,” he said.

“They have got to play to the best of their ability and it is up to them to do that.

“We are aiming to finish off strongly. We’ve been disappointing this year for a variety of reasons, but have to salvage something from the season and we want to finish on a high.

“This club and its performance on the field means a lot to a lot of people, not just the players.

“The players want to repay that loyalty.”

Richards squad has been decimated by injury, plus the unexpected departure of lock Jono Farmer - for personal reasons - and the recent premature retirement of livewire scrum-half Kris Greene.

And the Richmond chief has warned his squad he is already looking towards building for next year.

“We need to concentrate on the matter in hand and that is getting points on the board,” he added.

“That said you are always looking at moving forward for next season. The club’s Board will be talknig about next year fairly soon and that should be in everybody’s mind.”