SCOTT Johnson insists the Ospreys did not underperform last season, despite the region failing to land a trophy.

The Ospreys were hammered by Munster in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, were whitewashed by Gloucester in the EDF semis and finished fourth in the Magners League, yet still provided seven players to the Lions tour of South Africa.

The Ospreys possess arguably the most star-studded squad in Britain, but for large parts of last season they failed to function as a team.

Yet Johnson, the region's director of coaching, believes expectations remain too high. "Does a side that comes second in their competition underachieve because there's usually only one winner?" he said.

"Is everyone perceived as underachieving if you come second, third, fourth or fifth?

"I think there were reasons the Ospreys didn't do as well in some competitions as they wanted to last season.

"But I don't think it's fair to say they underachieved — I think the expectation may be excessive."

He added: "To play as best we can, that's the target, it's pretty simple.

"The reality is we've got to prepare and if we prepare and get our off-field stuff right results will follow.

"I can only control our part, I can't control the referee and I can't control the opposition. If we prepare well enough, we'll be good enough more often than not.

"I think everyone wants success in Europe, so our plans are not dissimilar to everybody else's.

"What I'm saying is, we'll put on a good show and if that's good enough then there we go.

"We're pretty settled with the squad we've got, so now we just need to get on with it."