PAUL Roos says he walks away from his role as Sydney Swans coach with no regrets and knowing it is the right time to leave his position.

Roos’ side bowed out of the finals race in a nail-biter against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, the match also being skipper Brett Kirk’s final game at AFL level.

The pair fronted the media after their side went down by five points in the first semi-final at the MCG.

While Kirk, who wears his heart on his sleeve, spoke of being “gutted” at the final siren, it was a typically philosophical Swans coach who gave his thoughts on the game and his time as the main man in Sydney.

“It’s probably a bit like being a player to be honest ... when I played and I finished my career I knew it was time to leave and that’s the way I feel now,” Roos said when asked if he would easily be able to let go.

“I think I’ve given it my all this year and I think the players have given it their all and now it’s time to do something else.

“I think that’s a good barometer of whether you’ve made the right or wrong decision. I don’t sit here now with any regrets whatsoever.”

While still fresh from battle, Roos said Saturday night didn’t feel too dissimilar to any other loss despite it being his last match at the helm.

Earlier it had looked as though the Roos-Kirk combination would last at least one more week, with the Swans racing to a five-goal lead midway through the second term before the Bulldogs clawed their way back and turned it into a cliff-hanger.

“Either team was stiff to lose last week and it was very similar tonight,” Roos said.

“I probably just thought, whether it was the extra break or whatever, they did look to have a little bit more run in their legs and I think in the end that’s probably what got them back in the game and got them over the line.

“But it could have gone either way ... if they had have lost they would have been stiff and that’s the way footy is.”

The Swans coach was disappointed his side couldn’t convert its third-term opportunities, when it managed just 0.5 compared to the Bulldogs’ 3.3.

Ruckman Shane Mumford was also injured late in the second term, and the Bulldogs capitalised on his absence during that period to kick two goals and edge closer.

“He’s [Mumford] got two bung knees and it was a really brave effort for him to come back on the ground,” Roos said.

“But I think those two late goals gave them some real confidence and they go in with a bit of momentum, and then obviously not having Mummy - as brave as he is, he couldn’t do some of the things he’s been able to do.

“Those sort of things obviously don’t help.”

While disappointed his team couldn’t progress, Roos was proud of his team’s development in 2010, especially with injuries to players such as Bradshaw, Craig Bolton, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Mark Seaby.

And he is confident he hands over a strong list to incumbent coach, John Longmire.

“We did feel we needed to make some changes at the end of last year and we were pretty aggressive,” he said.

“The senior players are still playing good football as well, so I think the short- and the medium-term for the footy club is really positive, when perhaps there was a bit of doom and gloom outside the footy club at the end of last year that we’d struggle again and we’d go down the bottom of the ladder.

“We’ve certainly made up a huge amount of ground this year, which is a real credit to the players.”