Edinburgh head coach Rob Moffat is confident that his side can push for a quarter-final spot in next season's Heineken Cup after learning of the draw for Europe's premier competition on Tuesday morning.
The Scottish-capital outfit have only ever reached the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup once in their hsitory, when they were beaten 36-10 in Toulouse back in 2004.
But, having won all three home games in last season's tournament, Moffatt believes his side have as good a chance as ever before of securing a place in the last eight.
"There's no such thing as an 'easy' or 'favourable' pool but Cardiff Blues are a team we know well and are a team we have a good record against, home and away so we know what we're facing," said Moffat, after Edinburgh were named alongside the Blues, Northampton Saints and Castres Olympique in Pool 1.
"Northampton are a tough side but, like Edinburgh, are a team that likes to play rugby. Franklin's Gardens is a good place for us to go and play though I don't think they'll relish playing at Murrayfield.
"Castres are the one French team Edinburgh have beaten away from home and are a team we know but they've improved a lot this season."
Unsurprisingly, Moffat is keen to see Edinburgh continue their home form from last season while also picking up more points on the road next term.
Edinburgh have beaten the likes of Stade Francais, Leinster, London Wasps, Leicester Tigers and Perpignan on home soil in recent seasons and Moffat knows his side have the potential to challenge Europe's best on a regular basis.
"I'm really looking forward to it. The Heineken Cup is a fantastic competition that gets better and stronger every season," added Moffat.
"What's positive is that we were drawn in tier three for the first time but we have to move up from there and get into tier two to improve our draw.
"To do that we've got to repeat last season's home form in this competition and pick up away wins which we're capable of doing."