Gloucester ‘must start winning away’
Melville's men tackle Munster today, scene of a 33-6 drubbing last season.
That defeat destroyed Gloucester's quarter-final hopes last year and raised many questions about their frailty away from Kingsholm.
Gloucester have never lost a home Heineken Cup tie beating Munster (twice), Perpignan, Cardiff, Colomiers and Llanelli, among others but the club's away record shows just a 50% success rate.
"We have got to start beating teams like Munster away from home in Europe. We cannot simply rely on winning one-off games at Kingsholm," said Gloucester rugby director Melville.
"You don't win major cup competitions just by winning at home every week.
"The challenge we face is to produce our best form away from home.
"There is no more difficult place to play away than Munster, but we have to start beating these teams if we are to make the jump. It is up to us to crack that pressure, and we need to do it soon.
"We cannot get too far ahead of ourselves in the pool. We know that a win would be fantastic, but there are three very tough games to go."
Gloucester have received a double boost with the return albeit on the bench of England prop Phil Vickery and back-row prospect James Forrester. Vickery has been sidelined for a month with rib trouble, while Forrester missed the last seven weeks because of an ankle injury.
One change in the starting XV sees hooker Chris Fortey back instead of Chris Collins.
Fortey was suspended for last week's clash after being sent off in a Zurich Premiership game against Harlequins.
A Gloucester win this weekend would take them a minimum eight points clear at the top of Pool Five, but they know it will require a colossal effort.
"Some said we were disgraced in Munster last season, but they played very well," claimed Gloucester's in-form centre Henry Paul.
"They went for the game, and we were naive and stupid.
"I remember getting a few high balls to deal with. You make mistakes, roll with it and get on with life.
"Thomond Park is very similar to Kingsholm, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere over there I was really buzzing. They really got in our faces and swamped us.
"We are really wary about going back to Limerick, because funny things can happen under pressure.
"We have got to put them under pressure and see how we can handle their pressure."
The weekend's other big games involving Irish teams see Leinster travelling to Stockport to take on Sale Sharks, who beat them last week; Ulster travel to Leicester, who will undoubtedly be looking for revenge after last week's drubbing in Ravenhill, while Connacht travel to Pau with a 29-7 lead in their Parker Pen Challenge Cup tie.
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