Carlisle-born centre Chris Harris insists Newcastle Falcons will only be focusing on their own preparations, despite the upheaval at opponents Leicester Tigers.

After their 40-6 thumping at Exeter Chiefs on Saturday, the Tigers parted ways with head coach Matt O’Connor just one game into the new season this week.

But former Carlisle Rugby Club player Harris, 27, says that hasn't been on the Newcastle radar in their build-up to today's clash (3pm kick-off).

"People sometimes say in football the worst time to play a team is when they’ve sacked their manager, but I suppose it can go both ways," said Harris.

"The way I’m dealing with it is not to even let it into my thoughts, because there’s no point.

"I’m just looking at my own performance and how that fits into the team overall, and if I start thinking about opposition coaches, it’s just an unnecessary distraction.

"The reality is that Leicester are still a very good side no matter who’s coaching them, but we’re just focusing on Newcastle."

Falcons themselves will look to bounce back from their 32-21 home loss to reigning champions Saracens on Sunday.

Harris told the club website: "We were pretty disappointed because we ran them close and could have won it.

"We were quite inconsistent in our performance but there was a lot of good stuff, and we’ve taken the positive bits from it."