ALAN O’CONNOR HAS been through just about every emotion in his 10 years with Ulster.

He joined the province from Leinster at the peak of their early 2010s surge, when they reached the final of the Heineken Cup and then the Pro12 decider.

He experienced the low moments in the mid 2010s when they were scrambling just to qualify for Europe’s premier competition, let alone compete. Over the last few years, he’s led the team into battle in impressive wins in Europe and disappointing defeats in knockout games.

So when asked for his verdict on Ulster’s last five weeks, consisting of another heart-wrenching European elimination that is rather frustratingly becoming their wont and three league defeats causing them to slip to fifth in the United Rugby Championship standings, his answer is rational and composed.

“If we had beaten Toulouse at home, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he insists.

A fair point. Had Antoine Dupont not scored with five minutes remaining and Ulster held on to beat the defending champions, there would be a completely different mood around the camp with a home quarter-final against Munster to come, and who knows how last week’s inter-pro against the southern province would have gone had they gone into it off the high of a win as opposed to a defeat?

As it is, though, these are all hypothetical situations. The grim reality is that Ulster’s season is threatening to collapse around them, with no more Champions Cup knockout rugby to look forward to and their participation in next year’s competition not even guaranteed before you even begin to talk about play-off seedings.

“I know Munster was bad but throughout the year we’ve had a great foundation, we’ve played really well and played a great brand of rugby,” says O’Connor.

“I don’t think we need to change too much because we’ve done well up to this point. Maybe a couple things here and there and then have a look at ourselves and see how the individual can add to the collective, because obviously the collective is good, but is it good enough to be winning these knockout games or these important games?

“I’ve been at Ulster for a while and I’ve seen the worst of it in terms of runs of games and stuff like that. It’s really important it’s not a negative atmosphere and more of a growth mindset – how can we get better, how can we challenge ourselves more in training to get better, how can we challenge ourselves individually and collectively to get better?

“There’s no witch hunts going on, we all know we’re in it together. There is that growth mindset within the squad because we know how far we’ve come and we know what we’re capable of. We can beat any team on our day, we’ve done that this year.

“The last couple of games haven’t gone our way and we’re the only ones responsible for that. It’s now important we have that growth mindset rather than beating ourselves up about ‘why are we doing this’. No-one’s pointing fingers at each other, we’re all looking at ourselves, which is great.”

Victory over Edinburgh tomorrow night would guarantee them their place in next season’s Champions Cup – which would be mission one completed – but would also take them one step closer to finishing back inside the top-four for a home quarter-final and potentially a step closer to sneaking back into the top-two for a home semi-final, too, should they get that far.

Baby steps, though. First and foremost is a game against a side that are playing good rugby and have their own designs on home advantage in the knockouts, and will be licking their lips at facing an out-of-sorts Ulster team on the form guide if their four defeats in their last five outings is anything to go by.

Not that O’Connor sees it that way, the lock instead claiming he’s eager to get back out and right some wrongs from the display at Kingspan Stadium a week ago against a side they have historically had some success against, particularly in games where they have had to produce a result – who could forget Ian Madigan’s jaw-dropping last-minute penalty in the Pro14 semi-final during lockdown?

“We’ve got a great opportunity going away to Edinburgh and they’re playing some really good rugby as well,” claims O’Connor.

“They’ve a lot of Scottish internationals, a high standard of player, and they play a lot differently to how they have in previous years under (Richard) Cockerill and (Alan) Solomons. They’re way more expansive now and that’s an even bigger challenge, but it’s good to get back over there and we have the knowledge that we’re capable of going over there and doing the business, that helps us, helps a few of the younger guys as well.

“Going to Edinburgh in the past, we’ve gone over off the back of a couple of losses or going there needing to win and we’ve delivered the goods. We’re looking forward to the weekend and getting back on the horse.”