The curtain fell on the extended 2019/20 campaign for the men from Newport when they were beaten in the European Challenge quarter-finals by Bristol Bears last Friday night.
Focus now quickly turns to the 2020/21 Guinness PRO14 season which will be under way in less than a fortnight.
Ryan believes the region took steps forward in his first season in charge although the focus remains on long-term development and progression.
And with the likes of Nick Tompkins, Jonah Holmes, Jamie Roberts, Joe Maksymiw and Greg Bateman added to the squad, he is confident Dragons can continue their upward trajectory.
“We are happy with the steps we have taken. We have got a lot more selection headaches and a lot more depth,” Ryan said. “Some of our youngsters are coming through and that progress is crucial.
“We have got a couple of other guys – Greg Bateman is to come in – and some real options that last year we didn’t have when we were sometimes down to the bare bones.
“We would hope to be more consistently strong this year.”
Reflecting on the European season, Ryan believes the defeat at Bristol has given his team a taste of the level they must strive to hit in the Heineken Champions Cup.
Dragons will be in Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 2011 in the coming campaign and Ryan wants to see his team show they have learnt the lessons of the Ashton Gate reversal.
“We’ve come to a quarter-final against one of the biggest strike powers in England in terms of scoring potential and it was probably a little bit too far for us,” he said after the Bristol game.
“But we want to be here and loved being here. Now the challenge is getting better while we are here.
“Our big learning curve is around the middle part of the game when they had a scoring burst after we had controlled the first 20 minutes.
“They get a burst, which they are always capable of with the quality they have, and I think we just lost accuracy.
“We had control, but it derailed us and that’s where we’ve got to challenge ourselves to be better against sides as good as this.”
