Britain finished fourth at the Games with 19 gold medals, 13 silver and 15 bronze – the best medal tally at the Olympics for 100 years. After flying back to Heathrow with most of his team on a British Airways jet yesterday, however, Clegg insisted that such success would only continue if the hard work also went on.

"There needs to be some proper time for reflection," the Team GB chief said after alighting from the plane, which had had its nose painted gold in recognition of the British team's achievements. "There shouldn't be a knee-jerk reaction to the outstanding performance of this team. We need to analyse the results, (and] look at what happened underneath the medal tables."

While the Games went on for just over a fortnight, Clegg pointed out as an example of the dedication required that many of the athletes and support staff have been away from home for far longer. "We're delighted to be back home in the UK," he said.

"It has been a long campaign. Many people have been overseas for six weeks. The whole team is really pleased to be back home and very proud of what has been achieved.

"It has been both an inspirational and outstanding performance by Team GB – our best games in a hundred years. Thanks to the millions who have supported us across the whole country.

"For me it was a huge privilege to lead such a close-knit, motivated and successful team and I hope many of the athletes will be with us at the greatest moment in British sport when we host the Olympics in 2012."

The issue of funding is sure to dominate discussions about the British team for 2012 over the coming months. Some sports can expect more money as a reward for their success, while underachievers may find their funds cut.

The exact sport-by-sport breakdown will not be known for some time, but Clegg said that in general he believed that the present level of funding would be vital to ensure future Olympic success. "It allows the governing bodies to ensure they can retain the world's best coaches," he continued.

"The level of funding we have at the moment is enough to achieve our targets for 2012."

As well as retaining the world's best coaches, such as head of cycling Dave Brailsford, the British team are keen to recruit more. One area in which they are expected to look abroad is athletics, where the performance director Dave Collins could be replaced by heptathlete Denise Lewis's former coach, the Dutchman Charles van Commenee.

Sebastian Coe, a former Olympic gold medallist on the track, paid tribute to the British team and the boost their performance had given to the next Olympics in London. Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Games, said: "Team GB have just provided us with the most extraordinary platform. Those guys just performed way beyond what I think any of us were expecting."

While the bulk of the team returned to the UK together yesterday, those whose competitive schedules finished earlier in the Games have already been back for some time. Nicole Cooke, for example, the winner of Britain's first gold medal when she won the cycling road race, returned early to celebrate her success with her family and some of the other people who were part of her support network.

Yesterday, though, Cooke was reunited with her team-mates when she travelled to Heathrow to welcome them home. "I think everyone will be looking forward to sharing their excitement with the British public," she said before her team-mates disembarked.

"Within the cycling team there was such a good spirit going into the Games. Everyone wanted to be as successful as possible. There was such a good feeling between the cycling team that everyone wanted to be as successful as possible."