Notts County's current longest-serving player Jim O'Brien has been reflecting on last season's disappointment in the playoffs as well as how the club has changed since he arrived from Bradford City in January 2019.
The 34-year-old made the move to Nottingham whilst County were still in League Two, with the midfielder recruited in order to help assist the Magpies in steering clear of relegation out of the Football League.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible and, three-and-a-half years on, the historic club are set to enter their fourth consecutive season in the fifth tier, having finished third and fifth twice in the past three campaigns.
Each season whilst O'Brien has been at the club has seen County fall short of their goals with last season's playoff heartbreak against eventual winners Grimsby Town still fresh in the memory for the Scotsman.
Having taken the lead through a Ruben Rodrigues penalty, the Magpies were agonisingly close to booking their place in the playoff semi-final when Grimsby's Gavan Hoolahan equalised in the sixth minute of added time to force an extra half an hour of extra-time, in which the Mariners scored in the last minute through Emmanuel Dieseruvwe.
"We’ve just had heartache at every turn," the veteran midfielder told the club's YouTube channel. "Last season because it was so late in the game as well. I’ve seen people’s Instagram’s and seeing people celebrating going up and it’s sore.
"After the Grimsby game I don’t think I spoke to anyone for about three days, just in my bed doing my own thing. Curtains were shut. I think we’ve got to use that to drive us forward. It’s not so much from a personal point of view, which I think as a collective group you feel as though you’re sort of letting people down.
"People in the office, the supporters, the ground staff, people that work around the club and put everything into supporting this club. Doing the tough shifts everyday and we know how much the club means to those people and your mind goes there first and you feel as though you’ve let them down."
However, the Scotsman was quick to add that off the pitch the club now has a much healthier status compared to when he joined, saying: "In terms of the club it’s in a much better position than when I first arrived. I mean when I first arrived at the training ground we were using other gyms round about the local area. We’ve got all that now, we’ve got all that here.
"It’s certainly a great set up to build on and go forwards and I think even when you’re attracting players to the club. I think it’s a good thing to have. We all know how well the club’s run now in terms of the way it was night and day. It’s going in the right direction, it’s about us putting that first little spark in."
Under new manager Luke Williams, there will be quiet optimism around the club that fourth time will prove to be the charm and that the club can get themselves back into the Football League this season.
"We know where we want to go and where need to be and we need to be aiming for," O'Brien admitted. "First week of pre-season, the first day, the manager let us know that’s where we’re going and that’s where we wanna go. If you wanna come and be a part of it, if you don’t, if you’re not going to work hard, you probably won’t be."
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