Harlequins head coach Dean Richards was pleased to see his side register a bonus point win over the Scarlets at The Stoop in their final Pool 4 fixture on Saturday afternoon.
Having already guaranteed their passage to the last eight of Europe's premier club competition, Quins scored four tries in a 29-24 victory that increased their chances of claiming a home quarter final berth.
"The concern for us was winning and getting the four points first of all and then the bonus point - we weren't particularly concerned with what they were doing from that respect," said Richards after Quins held off a spirited late comeback to claim maximum points in front of an 11,000-strong crowd.
"We would have liked the fifth try because that would have increased our chances again by another few percent but it wasn't to be unfortunately."
Richards, who led Leicester Tigers to back-to-back Heineken Cup triumphs in 2001 and 2002, has witnessed an impressive turn around in Quins' European fortunes this season as the Londoners finished the pool stages with five wins from six and a points total of 22.
This year's tally is in complete contrast to their efforts in the 2007/08 campaign which failed to bring a single win and resulted in a disappointing early exit.
"I said last year not to expect too much from us because we're a very young as a team," added Richards.
"They were quite naïve when it comes to playing in big matches and big venues.
"When you look at what we had last year to this year, you look at Danny Care, Nick Easter and Mike Brown who have all been on England tours. Ugo Monye's played in front of 70,000 people at Twickenham on a regular basis. Gonzalo Tiesi has come in having played in a World Cup right up to the semi finals, so we've got a lot more experience on the side now.
"The guys have progressed and matured as players but also matured as a team as well. We're a year older and a year more mature and that makes a big difference going into games."
