Kevin Muscat says records are not what motivates him after Melbourne Victory became the first club to win four A-League crowns.
A controversial strike from Kosta Barbarouses - given despite an offside in the build-up - earned a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets in Saturday's Grand Final, with Jets striker Ray O'Donovan shown a late red card.
Muscat has led Victory to two of their four titles but the coach said the milestone is unimportant compared to the club's progress.
"The record is not something that motivates me," Muscat told Fox Sports. "What motivates me is getting in each week and every day and trying to improve people.
"We've had an almighty challenge this season and it got to the point where it seemed like the whole country was wanting us to fall over at the final hurdle, but the boys dug deep.
"In the end, it was just an almighty battle. I think the ball spent more time in the air than it did on the ground, but like I always said we'll turn up and prepare and play any way possible.
"It's been an unbelievable challenge for us this season and we had to deal with a lot of things and a lot of challenges and one by one we stared them down.
"In the last two months, our football has improved and improved and tonight I don't think it was really a game of football. There was a lot of talk about free-flowing football but the ball spent more time in the air. Fortunately for us, we were prepared for it."
How sweet it is May 5, 2018
It was a particularly pleasing moment for Victory's star man Besart Berisha, the forward crowned champion for the fourth time in the past seven seasons.
"We got tested this year," the forward told Fox Sports. "We got tested in many aspects of the game and we stood tall, we stood together, we worked hard.
"We believed and in the end all our belief and hard work paid off. It's an incredible achievement. It's more special than to be number one and win it, it's crazy, it's unbelievable."
