Ulster prop Eric O'Sullivan said that his side know that two wins in their final United Rugby Championship [URC] games "make our season look a lot different".
Richie Murphy's side have a Challenge Cup final against Montpellier to look forward to but successive defeats by Leinster and Munster have dropped Ulster from third to eighth in the URC with two games left.
Ulster face the top two in Stormers and Glasgow Warriors with O'Sullivan acknowledging that the importance of winning those games and reaching the play-offs is helping players to put their European final at the back of their minds.
"The fact the two games matter is a huge part of it, we know we need two wins," he told BBC Sport NI.
"Two wins makes our season looks a lot different. Knowing each game matters is really important and we have to out and get wins and it will prep us well for the final.
"If you can compete with the two top in the league you can compete with anyone and its two important games coming up before the final."
Stormers have won 12 of their 16 URC games this season and O'Sullivan expects they will come with their full cohort to ensure they secure top seeds and home advantage in the play-offs.
"We're expecting them to come here fully loaded. They have a lot to play for, home advantage would be huge for them," he added.
"You want to go up against the best teams with their full depth and hopefully we can get a good result.
The 30-year-old hopes his side can use the feel-good factor around the club to propel them to a big victory on Friday.
"I'm a confidence player and when things are going well its easy to snowball from that and I'm sure there are guys in the squad that feel the same.
"You have league leaders coming to town, you're going into another big physical match, so you have to be switched on and ready to go.
"Going into the game its good to have the confidence and the European win but you have to park that."
Get the latest news, highlights, and connect with fellow fans
