Richard Cockerill: Edinburgh need to keep 'battling' in Pro14 play-off quest
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Edinburgh must keep "battling" to reach the Pro14 play-offs again, says head coach Richard Cockerill.
The Murrayfield side recorded a bonus-point 34-17 win over Dragons at home to move second in Conference B.
Edinburgh are just six points clear of Scarlets in fifth, while they face the top five sides in their final seven games.
"We've got to keep chipping away and get as many points as we can," Cockerill said.
"We've got some injuries and obviously Test duty calls but we've just got to keep battling away.
"We've got Scarlets to play, we've got [third place] Ulster to play, we've got a pretty tough run in- but our season's alive."
Trailing Dragons 17-14 at the break, Cockerill was his pleased with his side's response, as a second-half score from from Magnus Bradbury and two from Duhan Van der Merwe eased them to victory.
"We looked a little bit rusty in that first half but credit to the players we found a way to get a good foothold in the game, and that last 20 minutes we were too strong," the Englishman told BBC Scotland.
Centre James Johnstone twice put Edinburgh in front in the first-half, finishing off clever attacking plays.
And with Huw Jones expected to miss the rest of Scotland's Six Nations campaign through injury, Cockerill believes Johnstone has the quality to step into Gregor Townsend's squad.
"He's certainly improving and when he's decisive and doesn't hesitate he's a very dangerous player," he said.
"He's working very hard at his game and he was probably our best finisher."
