There is long pause when Otago captain Craig Cumming is asked if there are any positives to come out of his side's disappointing HRV Cup campaign.
Eventually, the straight-shooting batsman finds some words but they do not come easily to begin with.
The 2008-09 champions had a horrid run, slumping to five consecutive losses and then had their next four games washed out.
The campaign ended yesterday with another loss.
Wellington squeaked past Otago's total of 147 for eight with three wickets and one delivery to spare, at the Queenstown Events Centre, consigning Otago to a winless tournament.
The Volts had their moments but failed to grasp crucial opportunities - a story which is all too familiar, Cumming lamented.
"While we look back and we had four missed opportunities because of rain, there were still enough opportunities to play better cricket than we did," he said.
"But there were some areas we did well. I thought James McMillan bowled well with the new ball and then there is the development of Nick Beard.
"And Aaron Redmond played well, as well. They are the guys that stood out, but overall there was not too much to savour."
Otago has been a quality limited-overs team in the last two or three seasons but there were signs the side's form was sliding last season when it did not play well in the one-day campaign and started slowly in the twenty/20 tournament.
"There are some things which we used to do very well and they were second nature to us when we were a really good colour-clothing side. I think we've lost a little bit of that. Hopefully, we can make those changes and do well in the one-dayers. That would be a positive," Cumming said.
It was hard to pinpoint exactly what has going wrong.
Some days it has been the batting; at other times the bowling has not been up to scratch.
Normally a sharp fielding unit, Otago has also been a bit sloppy in the field and has let its standards drop.
It is a lot to put right before its opening one-day match against Wellington at Molyneux Park in Alexandra on January 9.
"There is certainly not one area that is letting us down. I think we have good spells at different stages.
"I just think the whole thing needs to get better. We need to get more professional. We need to get more ruthless with the bat and with the ball and in the field. We need to start trying to be a bit more confident and back ourselves. When you do that you give yourself more chance of success."
All and all, it has been a disappointing month which the camp is looking forward to putting behind it.
That said, Cumming believes Otago remains a threat in the one-day tournament.
"When I look at our team for the one-dayers, I think our batting unit has huge strength. When you've got the likes of myself, [Neil] Broom and Aaron Redmond in your top five you've got a lot of experience and the expectation is we should be winning games."
That would be nice.
Otago teams have produced some pretty underwhelming performances this year.
The Otago Nuggets lost all 18 National Basketball League games and the Otago Rugby team finished 14th after a dreadful season in which its low point was a bumbling win against Tasman.
