Sale's Dan Braid led by example last season © Getty Images

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New Sale Sharks skipper Dan Braid has called on his side to push for a top six finish this season and bury the memories of last term's miserable campaign.

Sale spent much of last season at the foot of the Aviva Premiership but they eventually did enough to secure survival and finished in tenth. While they floundered in the league, they managed to reach the final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

And Braid, who has been appointed Sale captain for this season despite having only joined the club in January, believes that experience of reaching the Cup final, even though they fell heavily to Harlequins, can galvanise the team this term.

"I think the team took a lot of confidence from the second half of last season and getting to the Anglo-Welsh Cup final," Braid said. "I came in and the coaches really went back to basics, built a driving platform with the forwards and really looked at the detail through our defence and the simple little things in our attack.

"We did use the Anglo-Welsh Cup to get some confidence back and build momentum and then into the Premiership stuff where we were fighting for our lives there and that helps out with the motivation, week-in, week-out. So I think the boys can be proud of what they did to turn the season round and manage to stay up and survive."

Sale had three different coaches in charge of the team last season while their marquee signings Richie Gray and Danny Cipriani failed to hit the heights expected of them. But Braid is optimistic his team have turned the corner and he wants his side to be staring down the table this term rather than up it.

Braid added: "I think as a side we've sat down and had a look and last season and looked at what went well towards the back half of the season and we're going to try and build from that into this season coming up. But I think our goal is to hit that top six and try and get Heineken Cup rugby for the following season.

"It's a great honour to come in and be named as captain this quickly. There are so many leaders in the side and it is something I'm looking forward to. I'm going to be contributing with the knowledge I have of the game with what I can do on the field and I'm really looking forward to the season as captain.

"It is has been a hell of an eight months. It was a bit of a surprise when Steve Diamond mentioned it to me but it was such it a huge honour, I didn't have to think long about it and I'm more than happy to do the job."