A 24-17 reverse to Scarlets was the Ulstermen's fourth straight RaboDirect PRO 12 defeat and history suggests things could get worse before they get better ahead of hosting Connacht at Ravenhill, having won just one of their last seven clashes with fellow Irish provinces.
But 32-year-old Wallace believes there is still plenty of time to get Ulster back on track and is confident they can kick-start their assault this weekend.
"There's a lot of rugby to be played and a lot of teams still to play each other," he said. "It's a competitive environment so teams are going to be taking points off one another, so we're by no means out of the race.
"While we didn't want to be sitting here having lost four at this stage of the season, you can't start looking too far down the line or dwelling on the fact that we only lost six last year.
"We take each game as it comes and try to get what we can from it.
"There was a lot of rustiness on our part in our last game. Hopefully we have that out of the way now and we can start playing the brand of rugby we want to.
"There will be a lot of improvement this weekend."
Ulster have been boosted by the news that World Cup winning prop John Afoa has gone straight into their starting line up despite only arriving in Belfast on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old will take the place of Declan Fitzpatrick in the front row while hooker Rory Best and flanker Stephen Ferris will also make their first Ulster starts of the season follow their World Cup stints.
However, they will be without Pienaar who faces at least a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Meanwhile, Connacht are also looking to turn things around as they head to Ravenhill off the back of three straight RaboDirect PRO 12 losses, but have only won once on the road in the competition since September 2010.
And Eric Elwood has made six changes as he bids to lead Connacht to victory in Belfast for the first time since 1960, with Eoghan Grace earning his first cap at flanker.
And assistant coach Dan McFarland is readying his troops for a full-blooded encounter.
"Battles between Connacht and Ulster are always very physical," he said. "Ulster have a strong set-piece, play a structured game, but they play with a huge tempo which we will have to match.
"These matches have a real edge to them and we will have to go hammer and tongs.
"We had a good game up there last year, and last weekend we did enough to win against a quality side like Cardiff, but for four minutes of poor play.
"Historically the odds are not good, but we know we have the ability to win if we can match them, cut out the errors, and kick our points."
At Ravenhill, 5.35pm.
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU, 14th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Paul Haycock, Brian MacNeice (both IRFU)
Citing Commissioner : John West (IRFU)
TMO: Tony Redmond (IRFU)
Live on BBCNI and RTE
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