For all the plaudits Tony Popovic will receive over the coming week, and it's hard to say he doesn't deserve every moment of it, Perth Glory's owner has been an unsung hero this year.
Perth Glory ran out A-League Premiers with a convincing 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets in front of a rapturous 11,000 strong crowd at HFB Park.
It's yet another debut-season Premiership for Tony Popovic, who said he's extremely proud of the squad he and Perth owner Tony Sage have put together.
"Proud coach, proud to lead this group of players.
"I saw Tony Sage shed a tear tonight, he's put a lot of money into the club and it's for a lot of people who have supported the club over a number of years.
"It's well deserved for this club."
While Popovic has marshalled a cohesive squad from eighth place last season to first the year after, Sage's willingness to splash the cash on a squad brimming with experience played a huge role.
Jason Davidson, Matthew Spiranovic, Dino Djulbic and goal-scorer Ivan Franjic have shown the old guard still pay dividends at this level, which Popovic noted after the celebrations.
But the gaffer still has a point to prove in the far West. With three A-League Grand Finals and no Championships to show for it, Popa will be gunning for one better this time around.
"The most pleasing part is they've performed week after week, you can't fault their performances," he continued. "We've played very well and thoroughly deserved this.
"It's a different feeling, Wanderers was starting a club from scratch, this one we've got a lot of history, but there's been a lot of willingness to be the best we can be. That's shown off the park and it's a credit to everyone.
"I've had three goes at a Grand Final and haven't got there. We're guaranteed a big semi-final here at home, but there's a lot of work to do.
"We'll try to do it once more and give these fans something to cheer about at a Grand Final."
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