Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou was keen to look to the future after his side's 1-0 loss to Central Coast ended their A-League season.
A goal from Daniel McBreen just before half-time in Sunday's preliminary final in Gosford was enough to send the Mariners into their second grand final in three years.
Postecoglou was disappointed to see his side's season come to an end, but said he was looking forward to continuing the work he has started with the powerhouse club.
"Being so close to getting there, it's always bitterly disappointing and very disappointing for our club and our fans," Postecoglou said.
"You saw how many supporters travelled up here today, we play in front of an average crowd of 22-23,000 people.
"A club that is like that deserves to set those standards and it's up to us to come up to those measures.
"That's why I came to this football club."
The former Brisbane Roar coach said he had been buoyed by the amount of young talent injected into the team this season.
Scott Galloway (18), Jason Geria and Connor Pain (both 19), plus 20 year-old forward Andrew Nabbout all impressed in their first seasons with Victory.
"The young guys, we have thrown them in at the deep end and they have understood what it is to play for this football club and the pressures," he said.
"The four or five that were there tonight will all be very good for us."
Postecoglou said he could not understand critics of the A-League finals system for their belief that it is easy for teams outside the top two to make the grand final.
The Victory coach believes finals are always intense affairs - which makes the drain of travel more of a hindrance.
"It surprises me the naivety of people when they talk about finals in this country, still after 30-odd years of playing them," he said.
"They are a totally different game to home and away.
"I almost had to laugh when I heard people saying 'teams from sixth can win it'.
"To win an away game in a final is tremendously hard."
Postecoglou said that whoever wins next week's grand final would be thoroughly deserving of an A-League championship.
"The two best performed and most consistent sides are in the grand final and one of them will be worthy champion," he said.
