The 53-year-old has enjoyed a special relationship over the years with the European Cup, winning it as a player with CA Brive in 1997.

Now he wants to do the same with Racing, who are still seeking their first European crown after three defeats in the final.

“Titles are etched into you for life - so being able to win a European title is exceptional,” he said.

“We’d like to get a star on our shirts and our hands on the trophy, because after three finals and three losses in the final, we are so keen and hungry to lead this campaign.

“The fact we’ve not been able to win it means that will is there, perhaps even more so. That is to say that the whole club – the directors, the partners, the president, the coaching staff, the players – has only one ambition.

“We’ve won the league in France – we’d of course like to do so again – but winning a European title after three finals and indeed the failures means that we’re really not far away, rather that we’ve not yet won it and that we’d love to bring the European Cup home to Racing 92.”

Although he is hoping that a final to be hosted in France – in Marseille – will be contested by two French teams, Travers is focused on the first task at hand and knows it will be tough to get out of a pool that includes Northampton Saints and Ospreys.

“As soon as the European Cup rolls around, there is also the discipline side of things which comes into play, because it’s international rugby and international rugby takes no prisoners,” he stressed. “We’ll need to be right on the level, of course, at set-pieces, with our kicking.

“The defensive side of things becomes crucial, because the games are played so quickly. And on the discipline side of things, because there’s now no room to manoeuvre, the merest infraction can cost points, but also a yellow card and that can very quickly give us problems.

“Our priority, in this format, is to not forget that we depend a lot on other teams’ results. So, of course, we’re dependent on our own results, but we’ll also have to pay attention to the others.

“And going from there in a pool that is very tough, it won’t be easy. So, it’s up to us to do what it takes to make it out of the pool and hope to be European champions ultimately.”

Racing 92 director of rugby Laurent Travers has warned that his side are as motivated as ever to achieve Heineken Champions Cup glory this season and claims they are “really not far away” from European success.