The Mets' search for their new GM was extensive, and each top candidate met with Jeff and Fred Wilpon to sell themselves as the right man for the job.

In Brodie Van Wagenen's case, he wasn't the candidate that tried to win over the Wilpons by saying exactly what they would want to hear. Instead, he told them what they needed to hear.

"They needed to hear that there was a lack of confidence in the organization," Van Wagenen told The Post's Steve Serby in an in-depth Q&A. "There was a lack of belief that they could win. And I wanted to change that narrative."

Van Wagenen has already gone on record to say he believes the Mets can be contenders despite some holes on the team. Though the Mets finished 77-85 this past season, the 44-year-old former agent is extremely confident in what his team brings to the table.

He's also confident he can add more to the roster, too.

"I think there's stars and talent in place that have winning mindsets, and I think there's an ownership group that's committed to giving me the resources to surround them with the best-in-class talent," he said.

But can the Mets truly make the leap from a below-average team to a postseason contender next season? Van Wagenen doesn't see why not.

"I think that you can't be afraid to win, and you can't be afraid to fail," he said. "You have to be able to go after anything in life with passion and conviction. And the only way to do that is to be relentless, because you're gonna face roadblocks, you're gonna face adversity, and you can't quit."

Van Wagenen will be active this offseason, especially at his first Winter Meetings on the other side of the spectrum. He has obviously negotiated numerous deals in the past for his clients, and that will be an advantage when looking at free agents and potentially striking trades.

So what is Van Wagenen's secret to getting those deals done?

"I think that I want to see the other side's perspective, and I want to be able to value players appropriately, and I want to be able to reward people fairly for their compensation, and in doing so, I feel like there should never be winning or losing a negotiation, everybody should be able to looking to create something fair and reasonable," he said when explaining his negotiation strategy.

It will be intriguing to watch Van Wagenen's move this offseason, and during the season. The hire was out of the box, and he has already showed from the get-go his outside-the-box mindset on the team's expectations this season.

Van Wagenen urged Mets fans to embody that mindset as well.

"Have hope, have optimism, and celebrate the success," he said. "Don't dwell on the failures."

That's easy for him to say, though, considering what Mets fans have gone through before Van Wagenen joined the team. But he knows there will be skepticism, and there will need to be results to make that change.

So, when spring training kicks off in February, Van Wagenen's message to the team will be a true reflection of his confidence and commitment to creating a winning culture in Flushing once again.

"I'm gonna tell them that I'm committed to giving them everything that they need to succeed, and I'm willing to put in the same effort that they put in to achieve that goal," he said.

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