But there were a number of beacons of light - not least O'Donnell's form in the RaboDirect PRO12 as well as the continued development of flying winger Simon Zebo.
Captain Paul O'Connell also returned after a lengthy injury to guide Munster to the Heineken Cup semi-finals and O'Donnell, voted Munster player of the year, is convinced there are good times ahead.
"I don't think your place is ever cemented, you've to keep working at it but I'm delighted with the season, the way it went and the run of games I got," said O'Donnell, 25.
"The season probably ended a small bit prematurely for us, but I'm delighted with how my own season went.
"There are a lot of positives going forward and moving in to next year, a lot of young players coming through and a lot of young players claiming positions this year. I think the future is very bright.
"I'm really looking forward to next year and can't wait to come back and start into it, and just get a full pre-season and see where we go from there."
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