Young sees a bright future at the Cardiff Blues

Sunday's superb 40-31 win over Leinster in front of a record 15,327 crowd means his team finish above the Ospreys, Dragons and Scarlets in the league.

In the last two seasons they have had to rely on, first, the demise of the Celtic Warriors, then an Italian play off to win Heineken Cup qualification.

"It shows how far we've come on this year," Young told BBC Sport Wales.

"We're going in the right direction and we have quality players here.

"What we need now is consistency and strength-in-depth. I'm confident and looking forward to next season."

People say that the record crowd was good for the Celtic League, but I think it was good for us Dai Young

It has been a mixed year for the Blues, who blew their chances of Heineken Cup qualification despite a very favourable group draw.

Young's position was apparently under threat over Christmas, following a run of poor results.

But the turnaround towards the end of the season coincided with 38-year-old Young's appearance as one of the most in-demand coaches in the game.

He was linked with moves into the Wales set-up, to the Llanelli Scarlets, and to Saracens, but last week committed his future to the Arms Park.

The ex-Wales and Lions tight-head prop hopes he can deliver many more days like Sunday's thriller at the Millennium Stadium.

"It was great entertainment, but no good for the nerves," said Young.

"I thought we were the better team from start to finish, but Leinster have a lot of good players and our lapses let them back in.

"That's the way we want to play the game, though, we have too much quality to be negative.

"People say that the record crowd was good for the Celtic League, but I think it was good for us - it's a measure of how far we've come at this region."