Ken Bates roused the players with a touch of perspective after the 3-0 defeat by Watford in Sunday's Coca-Cola Championship play-off final.
"I said they had given what they had and they had given their best," Bates said. "I said that tomorrow is the first day of our Championship season. They have to get over the disappointment of losing and come back again. I also told them not to be late for the first day back in training or we would fine them."
Money has been made available for rebuilding and it is commonly thought that promotion would have come too soon and required a complete overhaul of the playing squad.
"The chairman came in and congratulated us and said we were a couple of years ahead of where he thought we would be," Gregan added.