Wellington chief Pignata hopes to keep moving forward

After a successful season gaining plenty of traction, Wellington Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata wants to keep pushing the club in a forward direction.

The New Zealand club enjoyed a coming of age in 2009/10 in the A-League, qualifying for the finals for the first time and winning plenty of fans along the way.

After Saturday night’s Preliminary Final loss to Sydney FC which ended their season, Pignata was proud of the team and said it was a new age in New Zealand football.

“We've shown on and off the park we deserve to be part of the A-League," Pignata said.

"We're not like any Kiwi team before us, we've proved to the league we're a big part of the competition and we deserve a licence.

"Football Australia is all for us and FIFA are very supportive as well. Our aim was always to do as much as we could on and off the field and we've done that.

“This season has been massive for the club. It's been tough for us to get the respect over here (in Australia). You've had the new teams (North Queensland and Gold Coast) come into the league but we're the Cinderella story of the year."

Pignata admitted the plans for the club were big and have immediately targeted winning the title next season in an 11-team competition.

“We've moved from eighth to sixth to fourth (after the regular season). Now we want to get in the top two, history shows it's hard to win the title if you're not up there."