Cameroon won their fifth Africa Cup of Nations title on Sunday but coach Hugo Broos thinks there is still room for improvement.
Vincent Aboubakar's excellent 88th-minute strike clinched a 2-1 victory for Cameroon, who had cancelled out Mohamed Elneny's first-half opener through Nicolas N'Koulou's header.
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Broos' preparation for the tournament was hampered by seven players, including Liverpool's Joel Matip, turning down a place in the squad, while he has come in for criticism for deploying a number of young players.
But having claimed the title, the Belgian felt vindicated and insisted his side can continue to grow and reach new levels.
Broos told a media conference: "It's true that when I came to Cameroon a year ago I found a group of players who were not motivated so I had to change that.
"They were coming not to play for the national team but because they had to, because the coach asked them to come. So I changed the group a little bit and put some young players in and we started working and doing a good job.
"We have a team that is still not on the highest level. We can be better, but I think it is only the beginning.
"I am happy for the group, for the players. This is not a group of football players, this is a group of friends. That's why the players who are on the bench keep motivation. Against Senegal, against Ghana and today against Egypt, these players made the difference.
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"What really matters to me is results. I am delighted that we have won this trophy. This shows we have worked well - especially during the last months.
"What I told people when I came to Cameroon was that people have to be patient and correct and fair.
"I have no problem when a journalist criticises my choices, but when you are criticising you have to be objective so I hope that now we have won the trophy, I hope our relationship [Broos and the media] will be correct."