Those struggles have resulted in the news that head coach Michael Bradley will not have his contract renewed next season, while defence coach Billy McGinty has already left.
However according to forwards coach Neil Back, Edinburgh's next generation have learnt a great deal in adversity with some stars of the future coming to the fore - none more so than winger Dougie Fife, who has racked up three tries in all competitions including a European double against Munster.
Back said: "It's been a difficult season and results don't show the whole situation. Edinburgh got to the Heineken Cup semi-finals last year and didn't do well this year.
"But that's about confidence and last year players were in a team that was winning, this year it's been trickier.
"A lot of young players have got European experience, but the execution isn't quite there. That sort of thing comes with experience, so while this season has been difficult, they will have learned a lot.
"We are creating the opportunities, but the execution is about how you cope under pressure, the more experience the players have, the fewer errors they will make.
"Dougie Fife has been the standout player for us, he's having a fantastic season, and it's been a real breakthrough for him. He will have learned a lot from a season like this."
While Fife has burst on to the scene this season, there were a number of Edinburgh youngsters who enjoyed landmark campaigns last time around.
And Back believes it's important to remember how young the team is in general, including those who earned their first international call-ups on the back of last season's success.
He added: "There are a number of players who got capped for Scotland last year but in terms of rugby development have had very little experience.
"They are still very young, and if you look at our Heineken Cup team, we had a 19-year-old [Robin Hislop] starting at loosehead.
"Even David Denton, who played so well for Scotland last year, is still very inexperienced but people don't realise because he made such a big impact in the Six Nations last year.
"A lot of these players still need a bit more time, but this season will have served them well."
Neil Back was speaking to us courtesy of Green 4 Solutions, a leading sports and leisure CRM and ticketing provider, for whom he is an official ambassador. This partnership will see Neil and Green 4 Solutions working towards best practice within rugby, to enhance the supporter experience alongside clubs' commercial and marketing strategies. For more information, please visit their official website www.green4solutions.com
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