The Scottish side stormed to a 45-16 European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final triumph over the Dragons at BT Murrayfield last month. But they have their shot at redemption on Friday night when their continental conquerers arrive at Rodney Parade.
And Jones thinks a strong end to the season could see their upward curve continue.
He said: “We’re looking ahead to our next campaign, ensuring we get the foundations right and we finish on a high. I’m quite confident we can step into next season well. We’re absolutely delighted about where we are from where we’ve been. We are coming to the end of our change phase and hopefully next season we can deliver some consistency.
“We’re hoping to react very positively from two defeats. We lost to Edinburgh and the Scarlets back in October and we didn’t play very well, and seven months later, the same thing has happened again. We’ve learned so much from these defeats, they were disappointing but it’s important for the young players to go through these experiences.”
The Newport region are seven points clear of East Wales rivals Cardiff Blues with two matches left to play. A pair of wins would see them secure their place ahead of the Blues, but Jones is not interested in bragging right.
He said: “We’re positive and confident about Edinburgh on Friday, we’re looking for a strong performance and we just need players to stand up and take responsibility and be accountable for our actions. We’ve had a really good five months, the number of victories have been excellent. Our motivation is pride and finishing the season on a high.”
