It's the reason why they haven't qualified for the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup since the year of their Lansdowne Road triumph and if they're to put that particular hoodoo to bed this season, and at least get to the quarterfinal stage, they're going to have to break their Anglo-Gallic hoodoo.

There's no real excuse for it now. This is Mark McCall's fourth season in charge and excuses about inexperienced players and difficult opponents just don't apply this time around. In previous campaigns, where they've found themselves in pools with Wasps and Stade Francais (2001/02), Northampton and Biarritz (2002/03), Stade Francais and Leicester (2003/04), Gloucester and Stade Francais (2004/05), we've forgiven them their away defeats but Gloucester and Bourgoin hardly represent the cream of European rugby. It's time to deliver.

On paper, no matter what their awful early season Magners League form might suggest, they remain a decent looking outfit. The back-row that started Friday night's defeat to Glasgow . . . Neil Best, Kieron Dawson and Stephen Ferris . . . is particularly strong and they're not short in the second-row either, with Ryan Caldwell proving a genuine first-team challenger to Carlo del Fava, Justin Harrison and Matt McCullough. In midfield, the signing of Rob Dewey from Edinburgh and the re-instatement of Andrew Trimble to 13 constitutes a very strong centre combination and with David Humphreys rolling back the years at out-half, there's every reason for their pool opponents to fear them.

The problem is, thus far this season in particular, they consistently appear something less than the sum of their parts away from fortress Ravenhill.

Just like on Friday against an average if improving Glasgow side. To leave any game with just two penalties on the board is a poor return but that fact that Ulster were lucky to even kick two second-half penalties tells its own story.

"That just wasn't good enough, " said McCall on Friday night. "I would expect us to be a lot more cohesive at this point in the season but we're not. The only consolation is that most teams are a little off the pace because of the World Cup. Hopefully we can pick things up enough before Gloucester visit on Friday."

Ulster, in some ways, resemble the Irish national team.

They adhere to a structured game plan, there's no great variety in the way they play and while they can be hugely effective in what they're doing, the more other teams analyse them, the easier they are to figure out. Let's hope they have a few variations ready to spring from the play-book in the coming weeks.

First-up is the home game against Gloucester, an absolute must win fixture if ever there was one. Then there's the trip to Bourgoin, another game that they need to get something out of if they hold realistic hopes of getting to the quarter-finals of the competition. In some ways, they're unfortunate that they play the French side away so early, while they're still interested in the tournament, but both Munster and Leinster have won at Stade Pierre Rajon in the past. If they want to achieve the standards set by the other two provinces in Europe, they need to start getting results like them. The double-header against the Ospreys will be interesting.

Having the away game first is a disadvantage but it's not the end of the world. Ulster have beaten the Welsh side at the Liberties Stadium over the past three years . . . the day they clinched the Celtic League title in 2006 . . . and it's a venue they're used to playing at. The usual excuses of unfamiliar territory, hostile supporters and strange food don't really apply in Swansea.

They'll probably need five wins to top the pool, four for an outside chance of one of best two runners-up.Win their away game against Bourgoin and they just might have a chance of achieving one of those targets.