Defence Coach Dale McIntosh was proud of the manner in which Cardiff Blues ended the RaboDirect PRO12 season - and insisted the future was now an exciting one at the region.
Blues finished the campaign with a 27-15 loss at regional rivals Scarlets at a blustery Parc y Scarlets.
But despite falling to a loss on the final evening of the regular campaign, McIntosh was quick to praise the performance of Blues in the closing weeks and looked ahead to the 2014/15 season with huge optimism.
He said: “It’s a different place at the moment and I am excited about the future, hopefully the players and fans share that excitement.
“We had a rude awakening when we first took over against the Ospreys, but much of that was to do with change and changing systems. There were no excuses that night.
“But I have been over the moon with the application of the squad, not just on the pitch but in training too. From one to 38 they have been tremendous these last few months.
“They have come out, even if they haven’t been selected, and really bought into the environment and have worked hard to make sure we achieve our goals.
“We have shown over these last few weeks that we are competitive and we are playing for the jersey. Even though we lost tonight we have seen it in abundance,” he added.
“We have got to be more accurate in what we do and control the ball better. A couple of defensive system errors hurt us too and led to Scarlets taking their tries very well.
“We were slow out of the blocks, which is unlike us. We did the same against Connacht, but the previous three games we have come out flying.
“We problem solved and rectified it. The second quarter of the first half we played a bit of rugby.
“The turning point came at 17-15 when we had a lineout close to their line and dropped it when we went to drive it. Momentum went back to the Scarlets and it was an uphill battle.
"But we can be proud of what we have achieved these last few weeks and now turn our attention to next season."