New Connacht captain Jarrad Butler is determined to put the "frustration" of last season's Guinness Pro14 campaign behind them.
The 2016 champions endured a miserable time under coach Kieran Keane, who has since been replaced by Andy Friend, winning just seven games in Conference A with Zebre the only side to fare worse.
A home Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Gloucester ended their silverware hopes in March.
"It was so frustrating," Butler told RTÉ Sport.
"Obviously we didn’t get a lot of wins but there were so many games where we were right in it for a long time, always just falling short so that was frustrating.
"That’s something that we want to try and rectify this year.
"That starts next week and then that first month to put ourselves in a good place so that we can build on it and be competitive at the right time of the season."
Connacht welcome Glasgow to the Sportsground on 1 September and the former Reds and Brumbies loose forward wants to kick off with a bang.
"The Connacht fans are [among] the best in the world," said the 27-year-old Australian, who joined the province in 2017.
"They make every home game more enjoyable, especially when it’s rainy or windy or blowing sideways, they are always there and they are always loud and it makes all the difference.
"I don’t think many teams like coming to Galway at the best of times with the weather and when they come and they’ve got 10,000 fans there, as loud as they are in Galway, it’s tough to play in. I can’t wait for that game."
Ladies and gents, the #MonthOfChampions is coming to The Sportsground!
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) July 24, 2018
🏆 14/15 winners @GlasgowWarriors
🏆 15/16 winners @connachtrugby 🙋♂️
🏆 16/17 winners @scarlets_rugby
🏆 17/18 winners @leinsterrugby
4 champions. 1 month. Tickets on sale from Friday. pic.twitter.com/CNbDPPjFES
