SEND for the men in white coats, I have been encouraged by the Dragons over the past fortnight.

It has been a shocking season for the Rodney Parade region; there is stiff competition but it's hard to deny that it's been their worst ever.

The results have been awful with just two wins in the Guinness PRO14 and things have gone downhill badly since the dramatic draw against Ulster on December 1.

There was the solitary high of a superb win against Bordeaux-Begles, one that led to a Saturday night of checking events in Brive and Paris to see if the Dragons could sneak into the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, but things have turned grim since that elimination.

Performances and losses have left us wanting to hibernate (like a Bristol Bear?) until September.

There are those that are so desperate for the Dragons to be a success that they are unable to dish out tough love and say it's not been good enough.

But the majority of supporters aren't that daft; they didn't expect miracles this season in Year One of the Bernard Jackman regime but they wanted a lot more than this.

There is the mitigation of injuries to key figures like Brok Harris, Ollie Griffiths, Gavin Henson, Jack Dixon and Tyler Morgan, but a sizable contingent in the treatment room has to be expected in modern rugby.

If I was marking this season then I'd struggle to make an argument for giving it more than 2/10… and many would say that is generous.

The low point was the eight-day period that saw the Dragons put in a shoddy performance at a freezing Ebbw Vale when downed 25-12 only to then somehow be worse when beaten 45-13 by the then winless Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.

Those displays were followed by another demoralising home loss to a lively Cheetahs side that had one fearing for the double-header in Italy.

Those worries were heightened when Jackman named a 26-strong touring party that was so youthful that you wonder whether they had held a bucket shake to fund the trip.

Nine of the squad have made professional debuts this season, Arwel Robson and Joe Davies had only previously played Anglo-Welsh Cup rugby and the average age was 23 (only Zane Kirchner, 33, and Rynard Landman, 31, wouldn't be eligible for a Club 18-30 holiday).

Against Benetton and Zebre sides featuring plenty of players fresh from Six Nations duty, the Dragons boasted a total of 54 caps between them (Kirchner 31, Adam Warren 1, Cory Hill 15, Elliot Dee 7).

The Italian sides are no mugs on home soil and, combined with the Dragons' well-publicised travel sickness, I was expecting a pair of damn good thrashings.

While nobody wants to be plucky losers, it was welcome that Jackman's prospects earned that tag that used to be so familiar.

In Treviso they were denied by a controversial last-gasp penalty and in L'Aquila it was a stirring Zebre comeback and then a correct TMO call for a forward pass.

Robson had the chance to steal the spoils with the last kick but to say it was ambitious to call for the tee from inside his own half is an understatement.

The defeats have prompted more navel-gazing and dissection from supporters and media alike, especially after having such a commanding position at Zebre, but it is prudent to provide a little bit of context.

Last season the Dragons were well beaten 27-11 in Treviso despite their XV featuring the added experience of prop Sam Hobbs, Nic Cudd, Ed Jackson, Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan, while former internationals Rhys Thomas and Craig Mitchell were on the bench.

They headed to Parma in April and were beaten 29-14 by Zebre with a line-up that also included Phil Price, Brok Harris, Nick Crosswell, Ollie Griffiths, Pat Howard and Adam Hughes.

Think back to the final game of 2015/16 and it was even worse than the 47-22 loss to Zebre suggests despite the Dragons fielding a matchday 23 that, Harri Keddie apart, was full of seasoned campaigners.

It has been a frustrating, demoralising campaign and I completely sympathise with supporters that are holding fire with season ticket renewals and fans that have decided to instead plump for match tickets week to week.

But sometimes we need to take a deep breath and the past fortnight should not have anyone flinging crockery against the wall. If anything it has been a step in the right direction.

It's a sorry state of affairs to be relieved that defeats are narrow rather than humbling, but that's where we are with the Dragons at the moment.

Jackman has opted to give youth a chance in Year One before the prospects go back down the pecking order in September and that was a risky policy.

Hammerings can do more damage than good but, if nothing else, the young lads have shown their mettle to push two vastly more experienced teams all the way on foreign soil.

Those prospects deserve to be given more leeway and their displays in Italy have provided some crumbs of comfort in a car crash 2017/18.

But when the cavalry arrives this summer, it has to be about wins rather than learning