Image caption, Ulster boss Richie Murphy is without his nine-strong Ireland cohort in Cape Town ByAndy GrayBBC Sport NI Journalist Published 1 hour ago On the face of it, Ulster are without a victory in their four United Rugby Championship outings this season.
But head coach Richie Murphy is not ready to hit the panic button.
Despite a winless start, the Irish province are just one point outside the play-off places despite a struggle for results.
An opening defeat by Edinburgh was followed by two thrilling draws against Glasgow and Munster, and then a loss to the Bulls in the first of a South African double-header.
There has been a constant theme throughout: Ulster have allowed the opposition to build an early - and often significant - lead.
On each occasion they have fought back, but have yet to seal a comeback with victory.
Murphy admits his side have been "digging a bit of a hole" in each of their four matches this season.
"Obviously, we're not quite getting the results that we wanted, but we're in every game," said Murphy, whose side defeated Zebre in their Challenge Cup opener.
"We're playing against top-class opposition and we're fighting for everything we can get." "It's really important that we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
We will stick to our process and stick to what we believe in, and that's what we're trying to do." McNabney keen to show Ireland coaches 'what I'm all about' Published 10 hours ago Murphy praises Ulster for 'sticking in the fight' Published 1 day ago 'We strive for consistency' Despite admitting the opening results have left him with "mixed emotions", Murphy feels his side "can compete with the best teams in the league".
"We're not a million miles away from winning opportunities to win every one of those matches," he added.
"We're just trying to double down on the areas that we need to improve.
If you ask me what areas are they, it's a little bit of everything.
"If we could be a little bit better at the breakdown, or if our pass quality could be a little bit better.
All these tiny little aspects of the game add up to wins." If Ulster are to pick up an elusive first URC victory of the season, Murphy knows that consistency is going to be key - starting against the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday (12:45 GMT).
"In each of the games that we've played, we've played some very high-class rugby in both attack and defence, but we haven't been consistent," he said.
"The thing that we strive for is consistency and if our execution can very slightly improve, it's amazing what that will do to the results.
"We'll stick to the process, believe in what we're trying to do and we believe that the results will come." 'A different headache' While Ulster have been soaking up the heat in South Africa - a stark contrast to the current weather back home - Murphy knows his side are about to face a storm of a different kind on Saturday.
The Stormers will likely have their Springbok stars available - such as Siya Kolisi, back row Evan Roos and fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu - which is not a luxury Murphy will have.
In fact, Ulster head to Cape Town without nine of their key players after they were called up for Ireland duty ahead of November's Nations Championship fixtures.
Backs Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Robert Baloucoune, Nathan Doak and Jamie Benson have been included along with forwards Tom O'Toole, Tom Stewart, James McNabney and Nick Timoney.
The experience of hooker Rob Herring and centre James Hume should help to fill the void despite their lack of minutes through injury, and returning wing Zac Ward will offer plenty of try-scoring prowess.
Murphy admits it "causes a different headache for us" having so many players unavailable.
"We didn't know the amount of players we were going to lose and nine is probably more than we were expecting.
"But at the same time, we're delighted for those players to get the opportunity to go and represent Ireland." Image source, Getty Images Image caption, James McNabney (left) and Jamie Benson (with the ball) have been called into Andy Farrell's Ireland squad Of the nine players called up for Ireland's Nations Championship games in November, Benson and McNabney have been called up for the first time.
Murphy said Benson, a versatile Irish-qualified former England Under-20 international, has been "excellent" since joining from Harlequins in the summer.
The 24-year-old has featured in both centre positions and fly-half for Ulster, and can also play at full-back.
"He has shown good signs of leadership in our group as well and his attitude has been so good in relation to playing in three different positions "That versatility is really good for any squad and Ireland are obviously recognising that as well." Back row McNabney, who Farrell described as "some specimen", has been included after recovering from a year on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
"He's finding his feet in a little bit, but you can see the attributes that he has," said Murphy.
