Willie Kirk says Everton Women will 'continue to improve' despite their extra-time FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
Valerie Gauvin cancelled out Sam Mewis' first-half header with 30 minutes remaining at Wembley before Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie emerged from the bench to score in the final ten minutes of extra-time and help City retain their title.
But Kirk remains excited by the potential of his young Everton team as he suggested the scoreline flattered the Citizens.
"I think we'd have accepted and City would have accepted 2-1," he replied when asked if the final result was a fair reflection of the game. "The longer it goes you're thinking penalties and then you lose a goal but I think we continuously created chances.
"We were a continuous threat at every scoreline. I thought we could have been a little better in the final third to make those good chances great chances but City deserved it. They had to push themselves because we pushed them hard. Congratulations to them but we will be back."
Kirk, appointed in December 2018 when Everton were bottom of the Women's Super League, said in the build-up to the fixture that victory could be a 'launchpad' for further success but a defeat did not dampen his optimism.
"I still think that's the case," he said. "The commitment I got from the players today only reinforced my belief. The beauty of the group is they are continuously learning from these experiences.
"Molly Pike and Poppy Pattinson are 19 and 20 respectively. That experience will hold them in great stead. Grace Clinton, 17. Sandy MacIver, 22. It is such a young team and we will continue to improve and I firmly believe we will have a successful season."
