Arsene Wenger says he feels privileged to be in charge of his 500th Arsenal game this weekend in a profession where failure is rarely tolerated.
Sunday's Premier League game with champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge will cap a remarkable era that has transformed the north London club and had an impact on English football.
"I feel lucky, in our job, to make 500 games," Wenger told reporters at Arsenal's training ground on Friday.
"But I've never been a big fan of looking back. I try to use history to be better tomorrow."
Wenger, who has won seven major domestic trophies since taking over in 1996, said time had not diluted his passion for the club, nor his ambitions as a manager.
"If you say to me 'listen, you have to move upstairs' I would say 'no, I'll go and manage somewhere else.'
"My dream is still to win the championship, to play quality football, to win the European Cup, to go to the new stadium with a big team and to make Arsenal the biggest club in the world."
Arsenal are playing their last season at Highbury before moving to their new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium in 2006.
Among his biggest achievements, the Frenchman ranked Arsenal's record unbeaten league run of 49 games between 2003 and 2004.
CHANGING ATTITUDES
But he is also proud of his work in changing attitudes at the club, once renowned for a 1-0 win mentality but in recent years playing some of the most exciting football in Europe.
Wenger, who was famously greeted by the newspaper headline "Arsene Who?" on his arrival in London, said: "There was a lot scepticism about me. I was completely unknown, I was a little bit different to how people expect me. It was not easy.
But he added: "Every time you feel you have responded with style and quality and to the expectations of the people who come to the stadium...you're happy.
"You feel you have been a little bit of a help in pushing the club higher up to a different level. I try to have a positive influence on English football."
He singled out Dennis Bergkamp, the only player to have been at the club throughout his reign, strike partner Thierry Henry and three former players - keeper David Seaman, skipper Tony Adams and striker Ian Wright as instrumental in his success.
BIG PLAYERS
"If you want to play 500 games, you need big players," he said.
His impressive record to date is 294 victories, 116 draws and 89 defeats - with 912 goals scored and 466 conceded.
Despite those statistics, Wenger said: "Every time you lose a game, it's a terrible moment for me - 89 worst moments."
The one area where Wenger has yet to succeed is the Champions League, with Arsenal failing to have made it past the quarter-final stages.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Porto two seasons ago, paid tribute to Wenger on Friday.
"It's a fantastic achievement for a non-English manager to arrive in the country and do 500 matches," he told reporters. "He has brought a lot to Arsenal."
"Everybody around the world knows what a great job he is doing and the only thing that is not perfect is success in Europe...for that you need luck," he said. "What he's done in England he can be very, very proud of."
The Wenger era not only brought new successes, new facilities and more attractive football, the Frenchman also brought a more holistic approach to management including a change in diet - which did not go down well initially.
He fondly recalled his first game in charge, a 2-0 league win over Blackburn Rovers in October 1996, and when the players realised things were about to change.
"I suppressed the chocolate bars," he said. "And the players were singing in the back of the coach 'we want our chocolate bars'."
