It wasn't all European ecstasy at Gleneagles on Sunday night.

"A lot of our players went into the American team room at night to play them at table tennis and we got our asses kicked," said Paul McGinley. You can't win 'em all.

The European skipper was speaking on the morning after the night before. Bleary eyed, reeking of booze, unshaven and tousled? Not one bit. McGinley was as polished as the buffed up gold chalice that was plonked in front of him.

Europe had conquered the Americans once again and the canny Dubliner was determined to savour the moment and not let the memories become fogged in a fury of popping corks and celebratory indulgence. He still never got to bed until 3am, mind you.

"My wife gave me some of the best advice I've ever had in my life in 2002 when I holed the winning putt at the Ryder Cup," said McGinley. "She said 'Don't drink too much tonight, enjoy these moments, enjoy it. Don't drink too much or you'll forget about it'. I said that to the players. Have a few drinks, of course, let's share this, be merry, have fun, but let's remember this. This is what's special'." It was a highly pleasurable experience. Even Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager who was drafted in earlier in the Ryder Cup build up to give McGinley's men a motivational talk, was grateful to be part of it all. Europe's 16½-11½ victory over the US was well and truly a team effort.

"Alex Ferguson came into the room last night he said he felt like he was back in the boiler room this week," added McGinley. "He said 'thank you for the pleasure'. It's great he said that he felt that connection with the players. All the players were up there treating him as a friend, having a drink with him, pulling his leg again. It was just great to see."

Sir Alex may have been a useful addition to the armoury but on his final official round of media duties as a Ryder Cup skipper he revealed another, slightly more bizarre Ryder Cup weapon; blue and gold coloured fish. "We had a lot of different images around the team room but in that particular area, it was a transition area, so we wanted something we could see through to the light," McGinley said of this water-dwelling creatures that matched the European colours.

"It was the colours I was more interested in than the breed. It was my idea for the fish tank and it worked great. It was just a little touch but they are still there swimming away."

Things certainly went swimmingly for his side over three days of golfing combat in Perthshire. The close-knit camaraderie of Team Europe remains a vital cog in this well-oiled machine. By all accounts, it is the major part the Americans seem to be missing in their mechanics and dynamics.

Even those left on the European margins felt a connection. Luke Donald was the man McGinley had to leave on the sidelines when it came to naming his wild cards but the Englishman, a stalwart of four previous cup-winning teams, was one of the first to offer his heartfelt congratulations. "I just happened to have my phone at one stage during the night, when I was sitting with Sergio García, and a text message came in from Luke Donald and that meant a lot," McGinley said. "If you believe in fate, I happened to have my phone out for the one time during the night for some reason.

"I was moving it from one pocket to another and it dinged and I just happened to look and it was Luke. I had to make some tough calls as captain, some really tough calls. Leaving Luke out is a decision that still eats away at me. A guy like that who was so supportive of me to be captain and who has been a great Ryder Cup player? It was hard."

The tough decisions would continue once battle had commenced at Gleneagles. "All along I had thought Ian Poulter was going to play in the second afternoon, and he thought he was going to play," admitted McGinley.

"At the 11th hour I decided on Martin Kaymer instead and to break up that dynamic of Poulter and [Justin] Rose which has been so successful. That was a big call. But Ian accepted that decision and he came out, put his arm around me and said: 'You make the calls, you're the captain, I'll be ready tomorrow'. What more can a captain ask? That meant more to me than the Ian Poulter banging on his heart and what he did in Medinah."

Having won the Ryder Cup six times, as a player, a vice-captain and now a captain, McGinley effectively called time on on his career in this great team tussle that is so close to his heart.

He will be involved in the selection process of the next European captain but unlike Sam Torrance or Jose Maria Olazabal, who have both taken up vice-captain roles having had a stint in the top job, McGinley cannot envisage himself returning in an official capacity.

"I don't think I'd be vice-captain to anybody going forward to be honest," he said. "That's six I have been involved in and six wins. Like a heavyweight fighter, I will retire undefeated."

Under McGinley's astute leadership, Europe continued to be unbeatable.