EDINBURGH have pointedly turned their backs on the days when they were going through coaches at the rate of more than two a season by putting all their assistants on contracts that will keep them at the club through to the summer of 2018.

With Alan Solomons, the head coach, already signed up for a fourth season in overall charge, it promises a period of stability at the club only three years after Mark Dodson, the Scottish Rugby Union chief executive, described it as a basket case.

The current coaching panel has been in place only since Duncan Hodge, the backs coach, joined from Scotland duty at the end of the World Cup, joining Peter Wilkins, the defence coach who arrived from Australia a year ago on a 12 month deal, and Stevie Scott, the longest serving of the trio after shifting into his current role as forwards coach when Solomons joined.

"Since Alan came in, we have taken small strides forwards and a bigger one this year," said Scott. "I hope we can get the right results in the final two games of this season to let us push on again next season.

"It is my club, the club I played for 99 times. You can see with the players as a group and the coaching team that everyone works hard for everyone else. We have come a long way, but still have a lot we can do.

"For me it is great seeing the players performing on the international stage. Five of the six front row in the Six Nations were from Edinburgh, Grant Gilchrist would have been there if he was fit and Ben Toolis is pushing for a place at lock. There is also John Hardie in the back row, though we did lost David Denton to Bath. The international pack is based around Edinburgh."

While Scott's links to the club and the way the pack has become one of the best units in the Guinness PRO12 meant he was always likely to stay, Wilkins is probably the man who has had the biggest influence this season, with a turnaround in defence at the heart of their improvements.

"There are lots of things that are similar but also a lot of challenges – probably the biggest one is adjusting to the weather," he said.