Gareth Owen says this Sunday's showdown with Saracens at Welford Road is an opportunity for the Tigers squad to show the Gallagher Premiership what it's capable of.
Speaking to LTTV at the club's Oval Park training base, Owen was quick to admit that the squad was going through a "tough time" after a string of disappointing performances but adamant this weekend's arrival of the reigning champions provided a platform for the Leicester side to begin a turnaround in fortunes.
"We're going through a tough time, but the only way to get out of that is pluck a really good performance out of the air and show what we can do," he said.
"You have got to go through adversity to come out the other end ... it can only galvanise us and hopefully we'll come out of it stronger."
Looking back on last Friday night's loss to Gloucester, Owen admitted the group were "beat up" over the performance but quick to point out that each week presented a fresh challenge and opportunity to rectify the wrongs of previous outings.
"We were pretty beat up about it, that's not what we're about," the Welshman said.
"The good thing about rugby is that we can make amends this week and rectify all the wrongs we put out on the park last week."
Geordan Murphy is currently missing more than 15 squad members through injury or international duty, which includes almost 500 Test appearances of experience, but the Tigers centre says that's no excuse despite it taking its toll on the remaining members of the squad.
"We can't blame it on that we're down on troops ... it does take a big hit on the club, but as a squad we were very disappointed what we put on show last weekend," said Owen.
Only a third of the way through the 2018/19 campaign and the former Welsh Sevens international has featured in eight games this season, just short of the ten he played in 2017/18 due to injury, and says the more he plays the better he feels.
"The body is feeling good, the more game time you get the more hardened and game ready you become."
Watch the full interview with Owen below on LTTV.
