The Dragons started life under Jones and director of rugby namesake Lyn in fine fashion, winning four of their first six fixtures in the RaboDirect PRO12, but things have gone downhill since they beat the Blues at Rodney Parade on Boxing Day.
Just one league win has followed in 2014, with a heroic comeback victory over Glasgow in late February sandwiched between seven defeats and a draw in the PRO12 since the turn of the year.
Saturday’s 45-27 reverse at Treviso and the Blues’ win at Edinburgh saw the Dragons slip to 10th in the table just a few weeks after they were serious contenders for sixth spot and recognition as Wales’ second-best region.
“It’s been really disappointing: we got off to a good start but the last few weeks have been really painful,” Jones told Scrum V.
“We’re going to have to go through a certain amount of pain with this group. Half the team from the Treviso game were 22 years old and younger and there were three 19-year-old’s in the team so there’s a bright future, but watching the game back is painful.”
Next up for the Dragons is the Judgment Day showdown with the Ospreys at the Millennium Stadium this coming Sunday as they look to put a stop to Steve Tandy and co’s play-off aspirations and pile the pressure back on the Blues and Scarlets.
And, while they are now just two points clear of 11th-placed Treviso with three games remaining, Jones insists that his side are still looking at catching the teams above them in the table rather than worrying about lies below.
“We’ve got three games left and a big game next week against the Ospreys where we’ve got a chance to put things right,” added Jones.
“It will be a massive challenge: the Ospreys are an excellent side and they’re going for it as well. We can’t wait to get back out there after a disappointing couple of weeks.
“We’re hoping to finish as strongly as we started. We want to try and get as high up the league as we can. We’re only four points from seventh spot so we’re looking up the league as opposed to down and it’s pretty tight in that bottom half with all the teams.”
