A record 68-14 defeat to Leinster was not the way Ospreys wanted to finish the season and send off Jac Morgan, who leaves for Gloucester next season along with fellow Wales captain Dewi Lake.
“The scoreboard was ugly and I will try not to focus too much on that,” said head coach Mark Jones.
“It was probably one game too much for us this season and I don’t want it to be the match we remember.”
Ospreys’ league performance is almost identical to the previous campaign, matching the seven wins with one fewer league point but finishing one place higher.
They were controversially knocked out of the Challenge Cup last 16 by Ulster after a Kieran Hardy late score was ruled out for a forward pass.
Ospreys managed to win the Welsh URC shield involving games between the quartet.
The results have to be judged against the backdrop of a turbulent season when the Ospreys’ existence has been threatened following WRU plans to reduce the amount of professional sides to three.
Ospreys have found themselves in the firing line, especially when it was announced in January, that their owners Y11 Sport & Media were the preferred bidders to buy WRU-owned Cardiff.
That caused major anxiety with the initial announcement stating Ospreys’ professional future was only guaranteed until the end of the 2026-27 season.
While Jones will be scrutinised this season for things like team selection in his first full season in charge, he has had to contend with other matters.
“With everything that has gone on, I’ve learned an awful lot,” said Jones.
“A fair bit about myself, the coaching and playing group, backroom staff and our supporters.
“It’s been an enlightening season around how certain people respond to scenarios.
“I’ve learned people within our building are incredible, in terms of their character, work ethic and mindset to keep going through it all.”
Jones says it is hard to express how significantly the organisation has been affected by the uncertainty.
“There’s been times where you couldn’t have blamed anybody for taking it easy or having a lacklustre mindset,” said Jones.
“They will have felt like there’s no point, especially with some news we’ve had during the season.
“If I could change what’s happened this season I 100% would. Nobody should go through that.
“But I wouldn’t change the people we’ve done it with. They have done an incredible job and given me a lot of strength when I’ve needed it.”
The Y11 and WRU deal collapsed in April with four professional sides continuing in Wales for the next two seasons.
The WRU still plan to reduce to three and who survives in west Wales remains to be seen with further details expected in June.
“I would encourage everybody to finalise things and show a clear vision for players, supporters and stakeholders,” said Jones.
“Once we know what we’re working towards, people can get behind it. The problem has been the ambiguity hanging over everybody.”
Ospreys leave their temporary Bridgend home of this season to move into a refurbished St Helen’s ground in Swansea.
“Hopefully we have less disruption next year with the off-field antics and more talk around performance on the pitch,” said Jones.
Ospreys will bring in international signings and will need another fly-half option with Jack Walsh leaving.