Jean-Jacques Crenca captained Agen to a winning Heineken Cup debut but then declared they must go up at least another gear this weekend.
"We got our first Heineken Cup campaign off to a positive start with a win over the Borders but we will have to step up a gear from now on," said the French prop. "Northampton on their turf will be a different kettle of fish to the Borders.
"The coaches have been ramming it home to us for a while and I think the players are now well aware of the task that awaits us.
"We produced a decent performance on Saturday, but now we have to lift our level of rugby and give our play another dimension in order to come away with a good result on Saturday.
"We will also have to be a lot more disciplined because Northampton are a great team and we will be punished if we don't shape up.
"The French teams encountered a few teething problems away from home last weekend but a match is never won before it is played.
"The fact that we will be playing against a number of world champions gives us even more motivation to go out and prove that we are good enough.
"But I don't look at this match as a revenge for the World Cup semi-final in any way. This is a club competition, though it does mean we can measure ourselves against the best."