Toby Booth has revealed there will be "minimal" external recruitment at the Ospreys next season and admits all four Welsh regions might have to re-evaluate what success looks like.
With playing budgets getting slashed over the next couple of seasons, and wages being driven down, the Welsh sides have had no choice but to trim their squads making it difficult to retain players.
Booth is confident the Ospreys will succeed in holding on to the majority of their key players with Wales openside Jac Morgan signing a new contract last week and Nicky Smith set to follow, but thinks adding to the squad will be tricky.
READ MORE: WRU make decision on Welsh Premiership as letter sent to clubs after Llanelli withdrawal
"I've spoken to all the other head coaches, and people who are the decision makers in that, and everyone is struggling to retain what they've got so you've got to choose very carefully," he said.
"The challenge for us is you want some freshness and some energy so you're talking minimal numbers I think. I think everyone would like a little bit more of that but ultimately we are scrapping over what we've got.
"We've got some stuff to do to tidy up and finalise. When budgets are so tight you understand that when you get towards the end there's a massive domino effect.
"So if one agrees and one doesn't it opens other doors but it's a really complex thing to commit to.
"The exciting part is on the young talent front we are pretty happy with that which is good, and we've got a high number of those to come."
The Ospreys showed what they were capable of in patches this season, reaching the last 16 of the Champions Cup where they beat French champions Montpellier home and away, while they also beat English kings Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.
Booth is relatively confident his side can be competitive next season in the big games, but achieving consistency will be an issue given they will be carrying a smaller squad which provides a significant number of players to the national side.
"The biggest challenge for us and for the other Welsh regions is what success looks like," said the former London Irish, Bath and Harlequins coach.
"That's going to be the challenge but we can't live outside our means, everyone knows that.
"One thing I do think is the way that the squads are going to be made up you are going to need to stay healthy. The overlap, when internationals fall, and the rest weeks, fallow weeks, and who gets released.
"I spoke to Mike Blair about this last week, the regions are set up to be cup sides really because you get some momentum and then ultimately you have to restart again but then you get someone back for a bit and so forth.
"This is not a unique problem to us, and this is not me whingeing about it.
"It is what it is but if you've got a very deep Leinster-type squad you aren't as hurt by that because you've got the same players to improve parts of your game.
"We are on relearn and try to get better whereas they can target a part of their game during the international block and go 'right, we are going to really work on that, and become better at that'."
READ NEXT:
