Saracens director of rugby has revealed his admiration for Saturday's European Champions Cup opponents, Clermont Auvergne

After seeing his Saracens side beat Leicester Tigers 22-6 at Allianz Park to move back into second in the Premiership on Saturday, McCall turned his attention to the game at the neutral venue of St Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy Guichard - the scene of David Beckham’s red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.

"Clermont are a club I admire enormously," McCall stated. "They have lost a lot of semi-finals and finals over the years, but they keep coming back for more - they keep improving.

"Their performance against Northampton (in the quarter-finals) was as good as anything that has been played by a club side this season, so we have got to try to find a way to put them under some pressure and put them in some difficult positions."

Saracens have been dealt a timely fitness boost ahead of the game with Brad Barritt back in action after playing 70 minutes against Leicester while Owen Farrell is also expected to be available for the game.

"We have spoken about the mantra of pounding the rock, and that is what we have aimed to do this season," said England centre Barritt. "It is keeping on what we have been doing, learning to get better and keep pushing each other on and on. That is what has got us in this position and what will carry us through this next eight weeks.

"It (pounding the rock) was born from the concept of what the San Antonio Spurs had done.

"They had obviously been quite disappointed in losing two NBA finals and the third time they were able to keep at what they did and it turned out successful for them.

"We have taken a leaf out of that book, and hopefully it spurs us on this season."

Saracens have faced Clermont on six occasions since 2010, losing four times and winning twice, with victories coming at Allianz Park earlier this season and last year's record 46-6 European semi-final triumph at Twickenham.

Barritt added: "We obviously have a great rivalry with Clermont, spanning back three or four years, and yeah, the guys are buzzing.

"The grit and determination they showed in the last round (Saracens beat quarter-final opponents Racing Metro 12-11 in Paris) to get us into this position, it's only fair we go there and put in a great performance.

"Each time we play Clermont it is going to be a big opportunity and a big occasion.

"Last season, we had an upward trajectory the whole season. I think it was a record for points scored and tries scored and we were top of the Premiership with three or four games to go," Barritt reasoned.

"This year, there have been some ups and downs, and the character shown throughout has been monumental."

Billy Vunipola will face Clermont after being cleared by an RFU disciplinary panel of striking Leicester's Mathew Tait.

The 22-year-old had been cited for allegedly striking Leicester's Mathew Tait with a headbutt but the case has been dismissed.

An RFU disciplinary panel have ruled the collision was unintentional and Saracens management had felt the England number eight should not have been cited.

McCall said: "Billy was charged with a strike to the head. That has to be intentional but everyone can see that it wasn’t.

"There were enough camera angles to show Billy’s eyes were firmly on the ball the whole time.

"In terms of being reckless, he goes in in a very controlled fashion. He’s decelerating into contact and he’s in a great driving position. There’s no recklessness involved. It’s just a rugby accident and then it becomes a matter of physics.