Matt Corker says London Welsh can prove a point by finishing their season on a high note.

The experienced lock will make his 145th league appearance for the Exiles when he starts at London Irish today.

And while Welsh can no longer escape relegation, Corker says playing for pride agaist Irish and Worcester on May 4 remains a big motivation for the squad.

“The pressure is still there to perform, but now it is a different kind of pressure,” said Corker.

“We want to show we are a good team.

“We have been hard done by by certain things this year, which haven’t helped.

“Irish and Worcester are in our group at the bottom end of the table and we can beat them.”

Corker was Welsh’s man-of-the-match in the 31-14 defeat to Northampton, which consigned them to the drop.

Having spent more than six years at the club, he is their second longest-serving player behind captain Jon Mills. And although they will definitely finish bottom, Corker stressed there would be no let-up in effort.

“We are a proud club and a proud group of players,” he said.

“We would never give anything less than 100 per cent.

“That doesn’t hinge on our league position. We will be going all out to win.”

There is no doubt that relegation was a major blow to the Exiles, who have fought tooth and nail all season.

“It was a big disappointment, what happened last weekend,” said Corker. “We were all in pieces.

“We have only got quite a short turnaround this week. It is important that we pick ourselves up and that’s what we have done.

“It is good to have something to focus on in the short term at least.

“It is another game in the Premiership, which is exciting in itself.”

One target Welsh have in mind is to finish within five points of the 11th-placed team to show they could have stayed up had they not been docked five points for fielding an ineligible player.

“It would be a little consolation,” said Corker.

“These things that have happened off the pitch were out of our hands.

“For us as players we want to finish on a good note.”

And reflecting on Welsh’s rise in recent years, Corker stressed there was still a lot to celebrate.

“To get to this point, we have had to overcome so many hurdles,” he said.

“It’s no mean feat that we ever managed to make it to the Premiership.”