The Seagulls finished eighth in the Premier League, four points short of qualifying for the Europa Conference League and five points off a Champions League spot.
“I think we’re a little bit disappointed,” van Hecke told Brighton's website. “Our goal as a team was to get into Europe but of course we had some setbacks in the season.
“I think the final weeks were brilliant – everyone gave all they could and you could see that as well on the pitch and with the results.
“If you look at the last few weeks of the season we were really, really good – up there with the best. We spoke a lot this season about needing to be consistent in the Premier League to really battle for the top places and hopefully that's going to happen next season.
“We had a really good end and everyone had a good feeling. Of course we’re a bit disappointed, but we can be proud of what we showed in the last games of the season.”