Europe's players were united in praise of Jose Maria Olazabal after their Royal Trophy defeat and gave their unequivocal backing to the Spaniard should he choose to become Ryder Cup captain.
Paul McGinley, Paul Lawrie and Soren Hansen - three of the five Trophy representatives who have played in the Ryder Cup - spoke glowingly of the leadership of Olazabal, despite the 10-6 loss to Asia in the eight-man team event at Amata Spring Country Club near Bangkok.
McGinley said: "He's outstanding and he's going to be an absolutely outstanding Ryder Cup captain whenever it is his turn - he's different class."
Olazabal is widely expected to be at the top of the wish list of the 15-man European Tour tournament committee - ahead of Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam, the winning captain at the K Club in 2006 - when the subject of Nick Faldo's successor is discussed in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
The 42-year-old - the European team's replacement skipper for the Royal Trophy after his close friend and compatriot Seve Ballesteros underwent surgery on a brain tumour - would first like the opportunity to make an eighth Ryder Cup appearance at Celtic Manor in 2010 before accepting a non-playing leadership role.
The two-time Masters champion, who was Faldo's deputy as Europe surrendered the trophy in Valhalla last September, admitted the top job is appealing.
"It's up to the players to say how good a captain I was," said Olazabal, whose career has been hampered by rheumatism in recent years.
"I'll talk to them and ask them a few questions as the months go by and see if I can improve in some areas and try to improve myself and be very prepared for the future.
"I learned certain things this week that I'll keep in mind if the captaincy for the Ryder Cup happens."
Olazabal's desire to wait and see if he can return to competitive golf is expected to mean the committee, chaired by Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, will delay any decision on the Ryder Cup captaincy until their next meeting at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May.
There is no doubt the Spaniard, who made his Ryder Cup debut aged 21 in 1987, will make a tremendous captain in future, according to Lawrie.
The Scot, who played in the infamous 'Battle of Brookline' in 1999 - the year he won The Open at Carnoustie - told PA Sport: "Paul McGinley summed it up perfectly when he said that any player who makes Jose Maria's team as Ryder Cup captain will be lucky indeed.
"He's been excellent this week. He did everything he could do and couldn't do any more, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing under him."
Hansen became the second Dane, after Bjorn, to play in the European Ryder Cup team and concurred with his team-mates.
"Olly was great as an assistant to Faldo at the Ryder Cup and I would love to play under him in the future," he said.
McGinley sank the winning putt at The Belfry in 2002 as he made his debut in the biennial showdown with the United States and was unbeaten in team matchplay prior to yesterday's loss.
The Irishman was on the winning side in the 2002, 2004 and 2006 Ryder Cups and in the 2006 and 2007 Royal Trophies, playing under Sam Torrence, Bernard Langer, Woosnam and Ballesteros.
McGinley attributed Europe's first loss to Asia in the continental challenge to an under-par performance by his side, rather than any shortfall in the capabilities of Olazabal.
"The reason we didn't win is that the opposition were stronger," said McGinley. "All credit to the Asians, they played extremely well.
"We came up against a strong Asian team who were all on form.
"The Asian team have had a great run of success and the bottom line is we didn't play well enough and they deserved to win."
Olazabal hinted Ballesteros would return to reclaim The Royal Trophy in 2010 and believes the tournament will only get stronger.
"It's a great event," he added.
"We learned our lesson this week. The Asian team has raised the bar without a doubt and we're going to have to come here hungrier and more determined - if that's possible - to beat these guys."
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