NEW YORK (Reuters) - Winning the Super Bowl was a thrill, reaching the pinnacle of the National Football League again this season would be an even bigger one, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said on Wednesday.

"The fire is the same, the drive is the same," Coughlin told reporters at a news conference marking Thursday's opening of the training camp in upstate Albany for the 2008 season.

"It is very difficult, we know it is very difficult, to stay on top.

"One of the quotes I have seen is: 'Once you get to the top of the mountain you look and see that there are other mountains that have to be climbed, there are higher ones.' So that is the position that we take."

Coughlin's wildcard Giants upset the form book by knocking out three successive favorites on the road, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay, to win the NFC Championship and register an NFL record 10 road wins in a row.

The Giants had one last trip, going to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLII against New England and pulling of the grandest upset by denying the powerful Patriots an unbeaten season with a last-gasp 17-14 victory.

ENJOYING SUCCESS

Coughlin sought out great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, the nonagenarian who won 10 national college titles in 12 years, for advice on how to motivate players after enjoying success.

"I was talking with John Wooden," Coughlin said in an interview on Wednesday with WFAN Radio. "Who said make each day a masterpiece.

"What John was talking about was go ahead and acknowledge a great achievement occurred, but also realize we're moving on, each day preparing for the next challenge.

"He also talked about the idea of the disease of success. What you did yesterday does not necessarily mean that it's going to happen today. It comes with the basics, fundamentals and hard work."

Coughlin said the work ethic and team-first mentality of last year's squad would be the hallmark of this team as well.

"Successful teams out-think, out-prepare, out-practice, and out-play the opponents and that is exactly where the nuts and bolts of getting started again lies," he told reporters.

"It lies in our preparation and if the hearts and minds are in the right spot, we can overcome any obstacle."

Coughlin knows that some people considered the Giants' win over the Patriots was a fluke.

"People can say all they want," he said. "We earned our stripes. We earned our right to be the world champions.

"I think there are still doubters, I do," Coughlin added. "I think that is good, I think that is healthy for us. We will find a way somehow in our humble way to utilize all of that."

(Writing by Larry Fine; Editing by Ed Osmond)

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