Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder says that he is ignoring early speculation that he will lose his job if the Crusaders don't win the Super Rugby title this year.

The Crusaders were considered Super Rugby royalty a few years ago but even though they regularly make the finals they have not won since 2008.

In the Super 14 era the Bulls were crowned Champions more times than the Crusaders and in the Super 15 era the Reds and then their New Zealand rivals the Chiefs won the title last year.

When Blackadder took over in 2009 the Crusaders were champions but were unable to defend their title and made the Semi-final but lost to the eventual champions the Bulls.

Now in Blackadder's fifth Super Rugby season the pressure is mounting on the team that is still Super Rugby's most successful franchise but five seasons without a win may be too much for the bosses in Christchurch.

"People can speculate, but I'm not going to buy into it," Blackadder told ONESport.

"All I'm buying into is doing the very best that I can for this team with an aim to win a championship this year".

Blackadder says that he is determined to focus on performance and not results in 2013 and he is already getting support from key players in the squad.

"As a coach, you can only control what goes out onto the field, not what happens on it," says veteran hooker Corey Flynn.

"That's where we've got to take a little bit of the burden and make sure we get the success that we want."

Richie McCaw will miss the 2013 Super Rugby season on sabbatical but the rest of the squad have been put through their paces in training with strongman circuit instead of the heavy running focus they've been using to prepare for a more expansive style this season.