Martin O'Neill has insisted Celtic's UEFA Cup final defeat to Porto has only served to whet his appetite for more European adventures.
The Celtic manager expressed his admiration for his players after an exhausting 120 minutes in the heat of Seville, and condemned Porto for their time-wasting and play-acting.
O'Neill said: "There's no doubt that this has been a totally unforgettable experience. Great, great managers, great judges of the game, will tell you that you need to have this sort of European experience before you take it on a further step, you need to be steeped in it.
"We have now had a taste of the Champions League and gone this distance, it has been very hard work, very rewarding and it's where I aspire to be," he said.
But O'Neill made no secret of his disgust at Porto's tactics, nor did the 35,000 Celtic fans at the medal presentation.
"I wasn't pleased with it, I was not pleased at all," said O'Neill. "They are very talented footballers and I am afraid I was not pleased.
"You saw the reception they got when they collected their medals from our own fans and my own view is that Celtic have as fair-minded fans as there are in European matches and you saw their reaction.
"The referee looked very young and he will learn from this. He will learn that if you score a goal the kick-off should not be five minutes later.
"Lots of things were going on there, but it doesn't matter now, it's gone, I cannot change it," O'Neill said.
The Celtic boss, who was applauded by the media after a passionate post-match news conference, added: "It was a fantastic effort by the players and the supporters. It was incredible, they were immense. They have been immense in victory at times and they were immense in defeat.
"We finally lose in this competition with a few minutes to go in extra time, it has been a great, great run".
Celtic now face the task of raising themselves for Sunday's final Premier League games, which will decide whether they or Rangers will become domestic champions, but O'Neill could not even think of that match.
He added: "I cannot even think about Sunday's game at all. This was the UEFA Cup final, give it its rightful position. I need to get over the disappointment".