DEAN RICHARDS has refused to blame the Championship's controversial play-off system for Newcastle Falcons' surprise defeat at Leeds on Monday, and expressed confidence his side will turn things around in the return leg at Kingston Park.

Despite finishing 24 points clear of their closest rivals in the regular season, Falcons started the play-off programme on level terms with the other three teams involved.

They had only suffered one previous defeat all season, but their 24-19 reverse at Leeds Carnegie has piled on the pressure ahead of Sunday's second leg.

If Falcons fail to overturn their five-point deficit in four days time, they will have suffered at the hands of a promotion system that most neutrals believe is grossly unfair.

But Richards admits his players knew the rules at the start of the season, and is confident they will not allow any lingering resentment to derail their promotion push.

"I am not a fan of it, but we always knew the format and what we had to overcome," said Falcons' director of rugby. "It is half-time, and we are five points down.

"We performed at probably about 40 per cent of our potential, which is a bit disappointing, so the accuracy going into the second leg needs to be better."I was a little surprised because we have a lot of experience in our side, but the boys should calm down at home and it is always a little bit more difficult away."

Given his standing in the game and his successes this season, there are fears that a failure to win promotion would lead to Richards walking away from his role at Kingston Park.

The former Harlequins chief insists that is not the case, with his only focus at the moment being trained on Sunday's second leg and the pursuit of a six-point win.

"I am here for the long term," he said. "This is the business end, where everything counts. We are at half-time in this particular game, and Sunday at Kingston Park for the second leg should be a great occasion.

"Home advantage counts for a lot in this sort of situation, and we will see. I am looking forward to it actually, and the boys are as well. It is only five points, and it is still within our grasp. There are another 80 minutes of rugby to be played."