"We worked hard to get there, but unfortunately, we were very disappointing in the final," he said at the presentation ceremony.
West Indies made a superb start before collapsing to 138 all out. Australia coasted to a revised victory target of 116 after rain intervened.
West Indies also lost to Australia in a tri-series tournament in Kuala Lumpur in September after a batting collapse in the final.
"The same thing happened in the DLF Cup, we didn't get runs," Lara said. "Maybe it was a little stage fright."
However, he praised his players for performing beyond expectations to boost their confidence ahead of the World Cup in the Caribbean in March and April.
"The fact of the matter is...our getting here, a lot of people did not expect us to. We've to work on crossing the final hurdle," he added.
Lara also hailed explosive opener Chris Gayle, who amassed 474 runs from eight innings with three hundreds to be named the player of the tournament.
"Most definitely the guys started believing in themselves, in their talent, and began expressing themselves. That is what we need to do from here, straight up to the World Cup," he said.
"Being the host country a lot of people would expect us to do well. It definitely gives us the impetus we need to enter such a major tournament."
