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Like everyone else, I’m clearly disappointed that we have fallen at the final hurdle.

Take nothing away from the team I put out, but the task of reaching the play-offs was always going to be difficult after the hammer blow of losing Dave Theobald and Lee Chaffey at Chippenham on Tuesday night. You simply cannot expect to beat a team like Hednesford if you are not at full strength, and by losing two key personnel at such a crucial stage of the season was always going to be tough.

That said, the first half of the game was very tight and tense, and I thought we did well to contain them as they are physically strong and have excellent aerial ability that was always going to threaten us, especially at the back. I said before the game that their front three are as good as anything in this league, and so it proved.

Meanwhile, the problem we were having was getting our wingers into the game. They did their homework and stifled Ash Fuller and Tony Burke and we found it difficult to create any decent chances as a result.

With the goals, a couple of them were down to defensive mistakes or a lack of communication, and when we went 2-0 down we were chasing the game and obviously reliant on results elsewhere.

I tried to change it by adding where I could a bit more height. This was particularly the case when I bought Steve Gentle on. As we know, he was far from fit, but it was a last throw of the dice from our point of view in a vein attempt to push forward and mix it up a bit.

In terms of the other games, I was aware of what was going on elsewhere, and on the last day of the season anything can happen when there is so much at stake, and so it proved with the game at Chippenham.

So we were in the lap of the gods at the final whistle. When the players heard the Brackley result they were desperately down as they had thrown everything at it in recent weeks, and did a magnificent job with so many games to play, but you have to give credit to Hednesford. They are strong and physical and overall a decent side and they have an excellent chance in the play-offs and I am tipping them to play Nuneaton in the final. They have come good when it matters and are strong all over the park.

I feel for the club and the fans as it’s been a long hard season, and to come so close once again is a bitter pill to swallow, but we’ll put this to bed and come back next season with renewed vigour and determination to have another successful campaign.