Steven Gerrard has called the 2021-22 season unacceptable for Aston Villa, even though players took a celebratory lap around Villa Park after their last home match of the campaign on Thursday.
A 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Burnley put a lukewarm end to their time in the West Midlands this term.
While the manager said fans deserved the positive gesture from players after the match, he also vowed that he would push for better times in the future.
What did Gerrard say?
"We are 14th in the league and we've just given a lap of honour and our fans were incredible," Gerrard told Sky Sports. "Moving forward, this club cannot finish 14th again. We need to change things and come back better and stronger next season.
"Their keeper is probably man of match for them but we need to be better. We need to have more quality and answers.
Next Match
"The first part of the job was to stay safe but we wanted to finish in the top half. Moving forward we need to improve in a lot of departments. We need to recruit well.
"We will try and give it our best shot and make our supporters proud on the last day of the season. We have little time to prepare for the Manchester City game. We'll try and make it as difficult as we can for them. We will fight for everything we can."
The bigger picture
Gerrard joined the club mid-season in November and has guided them to safety from the relegation zone.
However, a squad picked by some to finish closer to the top-half this year clearly has work to do to improve their standing for the next campaign.
They can gain positive momentum on the final day of this season by picking up a result against Manchester City, which would also give Gerrard's former club Liverpool the opening to dramatically win the league.