Head coach Bernard Jackman believes the culture is changing quickly at the Dragons as the Welsh club defeated Connacht to claim a first league victory in nine months.
The Welsh outfit inflicted a second Guinness Pro14 defeat of the season on Kieran Keane's side last night thanks to a whirlwind first-half performance at Rodney Parade.
Kieran Keane's Westerners couldn't live with the Dragons, who closed out a 21-8 win - their first league victory since January. It was hugely encouraging for former Leinster, Connacht and Ireland hooker Jackman, who took the reins in June.
After losing their first two games, turning over the province could prove a turning point.
"The players have been under-funded, under-resourced, mismanaged for three or four years and I feel sorry for them," he told RTÉ Sport.
"That's why I didn't want to make any recruitment. These guys need a chance to work in abetter environment... and the union behind the Dragons has given us better medical, better strength and conditioning, better travel. Now it's up to the players to step to the challenge.
"Connacht were missing a few front-line players so... we haven't won a World Cup or anything, but we haven't won a league game since January.
"In the two performances (before last night) there's been promising moments but there hasn't been anything really the fans can get behind, whereas against Connacht there was plenty in that first half."
Tries from Hallam Amos and Elliot Dee and three penalties and a conversion from Gavin Henson did the damage for the Dragons.
They celebrated the success with gusto after wards, and Jackman is hoping it's a catalyst for the rets of the campaign.
"Connacht are a team who asked big questions of us. It's really pleasing," he added.
"It was a step forward. It's about winning little battles over the course of the season and reinforcing those positive moments.
"That's the best performance we've had. We conceded more than 40 points in every game pre-season. Our defence coach only arrived three weeks ago.
"We're changing our defensive system. It was the best defensive performance we've had and that's really pleasing because we won't come up against many teams who test us in the way Connacht did."
