Arnold ticks lucky last item off to-do list The Coach Graham Arnold knows all about agonising loss. He was a player in the Socceroos side that slumped to defeat in heartbreaking circumstances to Iran 16 years ago. And he was in charge of the Central Coast side when the Mariners crashed to an extraordinary defeat to Brisbane in that A-League grand final penalty shoot-out loss two years ago. He says the wounds are healed and the nightmares are over after guiding his Mariners side to what, in the end, was an emphatic 2-0 win over the Western Sydney Wanderers in front of a packed Allianz Stadium on Sunday. And having finally tasted the ultimate success with the club from Gosford, he is keen to back up and do it all over again - even though he acknowledged post match Central Coast were likely to lose several of their young stars and an immediate rebuild would be necessary. "We had to learn the hard way how to win a grand final, and I am sure they [the Wanderers] will get a chance in the near future," Arnold said. He revealed he had used the memory of the club's three grand final defeats as motivation in the build-up to Sunday's clash. The last couple of weeks, I have brought the past up, [but] we just wanted to make sure we carried out the game plan and played for 95 minutes and continued to do what we did from the start of the game. One thing I learned through my experiences with Guus Hiddink [when Arnold was assistant Socceroos coach], I didn't have to tell them how big the game was. Last night, after dinner we watched Mike Bassett: England Manager [a satirical film lampooning football managers] and the boys had a good laugh about it, they were extremely relaxed. There's a few boys who have been scarred from grand finals, but now the scars are gone. Our fairytale has now been achieved. Arnold believes the likes of Bernie Ibini, goalkeeper Mat Ryan and defender Trent Sainsbury have played their last game for the club. I think we will lose some players, definitely. The three youngsters have been fantastic this year - Bernie, Matty and Trent Sainsbury," he said. "They have had interest from Europe and for them to go to another level to start playing international football for the Socceroos, then maybe it is time to go," Arnold said. And what of his future? I have completed the journey. I set my goal when I first came and signed a three-year deal: to win a grand final," he said. I have got another year to to on my contract when I extended last year, and I am happy to be here. I don't think I want to go to another A-League club ... I enjoy so much working with the boys. We will see what happens but I am very happy at the moment.