The review of the Highlanders' season, which ended on Friday night with a last-minute 38-37 loss to the Rebels in Melbourne, has already begun and will continue over the next few weeks.
With the final round of the Super 15 competition completed over the weekend, the Highlanders ended up in a disappointing 14th position, with only new boys the Kings below them.
It has been a season of massive letdown after such high expectation and general manager Roger Clark said he has felt it just as much, if not more, than anyone.
''It has been a tough year. We, and a lot of other people, thought at the beginning of the year we were in a pretty strong position to improve on the results from the last couple of years,'' Clark said.
''But for a number of reasons it has not worked. Everyone tried really hard. Now we have got to make sure we turn it around and get it right. We are working through that process at the moment.
''I think we have got a good nucleus of a squad here but do we want to make some changes? Yes. If we do not then we will just get the same result.
''From my perspective and Jamie's [Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph] perspective we are doing everything we can to improve. But it is disappointing. There is no hiding that. And we probably feel the disappointment more than anyone as we are so intimately involved.''
Clark said with the Highlanders well out of the playoff picture early in the season - the side lost its first eight games - the player review process was well under way.
He said the review system this year would follow along similar lines as previous years despite the disappointing 14th place.
He pointed to 2010, which had led to Joseph's appointment, coming from a review process.
Clark did not want to pre-empt the outcomes but said they would be making changes which needed to be made.
Assistant coaches Scott McLeod and Jon Preston are in their first year at this level. McLeod is employed by the New Zealand Rugby Union while Preston is employed by the Highlanders. Both have a two-year deals.
Clark said a coaches' review should be completed by the middle of next month, but Joseph was the coach the Highlanders board wanted to stick with.
''I have said it all the way through. We signed Jamie last year for two years and nothing has changed that for us. He is the man to do the job.''
He declined to comment on speculation Joseph has a clause in his contract which means he cannot be sacked because of results on the field.
Meanwhile, loose forward Elliot Dixon was violently sick at the ground minutes before the game against the Rebels on Friday night and had to be replaced in the starting line-up.
He did not return with the team on Saturday and flew back to Dunedin yesterday.
Meanwhile the Chiefs will have this weekend off, finishing top of the table, and beating the Blues in Auckland 26-16 on Saturday night.
The Bulls also put their feet up next weekend but blew their chance of finishing top after losing to the Stormers 30-13 in Cape Town.
The Reds beat the Waratahs 14-12 in Sydney, while the Force beat the Brumbies 21-15 in Perth.
The Crusaders will play the Reds in the first knockout game on Saturday night in Christchurch, while the Brumbies face the Cheetahs in Canberra on Sunday.
