Johann van Graan denies Munster are drifting as they recover from a "helter-skelter period."
Setbacks for the province have come thick and fast over the last two months.
When RG Snyman hit the deck during an impressive win away at Scarlets, there were fears of a re-reruptured ACL.
They proved to be right and the Springbok lock, whose contract ends in the summer, is sidelined again.
Then came the South Africa odyssey, which by the time all of the Covid recovery and double isolation had ended, enveloped the news that highly regarded senior coach Stephen Larkham was heading home, and that Van Graan himself had decided Bath are a better fit for him.
A spirit-lifting Champions Cup victory with a callow squad over Wasps, that came at the cost of a fractured elbow for Joey Carbery, was followed up by a lacklustre win over Castres and Saturday night's 10-8 URC defeat to Connacht, their first lost in four games in Galway.
The immensely respected Keith Earls said in his recent book that coaching turnover was a fundamental problem at the club, who have now entered a second decade without a trophy.
"It was pretty clear out there that our hearts and souls were in there as coaching staff and players," said the South African.
"We lost the game by one score.
"We've had a helter-skelter period for the last three months.
"It’s the same for all the Irish teams. It’s nothing new that we’ve suddenly become used to.
"We just have to get guys on the pitch and do our best to get playing."
Munster got a losing bonus point but, apart from a tiresome looking pack assault on the Connacht line before the break, never looked like adding to a Ben Healy penalty and an Andrew Conway try, which came from a blocked clearance.
"Both sides didn’t have a lot of opportunities," added the 41-year-old, whose side welcome Ulster to Thomond on Saturday (7.35pm).
"The difference was that they got a lot of penalties that they went to maul from the ’22 and I thought we defended them pretty well.
"It’s safe to say that the conditions and type of game were the same for both sides.
"It’s something we are striving to achieve. Tonight wasn’t one of those nights, it was an arm wrestle between two sides who just wanted to win.
"The score wasn’t 32-30, it was 10-8 which shows it was a big battle, a typical tight Irish derby and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end of it."
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