WHEN writing up my content from Warrington Town’s play-off defeat to Grantham last week, there were plenty of mixed emotions.

There was disbelief – after all, I had just watched a team that had worked so hard to be in the position they were have their dreams dashed thanks to one slightly below-par second-half performance.

I was saddened, too. In my two years working for the Guardian, I have formed a strong bond with the players and staff at Cantilever Park, from chairman Toby Macormac right down to kitman John Barton and everyone in between.

To see them all so down was tough. My post-match interview with manager Paul Carden to a backdrop of Grantham celebrations will go down as one of the toughest I have ever done.

Having had time to reflect upon everything, however, I feel proud of the club and I am sure their diehard band of supporters feel the same.

This is a club that has been on an incredible ride in recent years. One play-off setback will certainly not derail the train.

Of course, it is natural to feel solemn after a big defeat, but Yellows fans should reflect upon a whirlwind season with so many memories.

Who could forget Tony Gray’s last-minute winner at Witton on Boxing Day? Or Jamie McDonald striking similarly late to dump league champions Altrincham out of the FA Trophy?

In that particular cup competition, the dismantling of Tamworth and the incredible replay win over National League high-fliers Ebbsfleet United will live long in the memory.

Of course there will be overtones of regret, especially with Yellows having closed to within one point of Altrincham at the top of the Evo-Stik Premier Division at the end of March.

It then became a case of who would blink first. Ultimately, it would be Town and Alty eventually pulled away to consign them to the play-offs.

That said, would everyone associated with the club have taken a third-place finish in August? I think you would struggle to find anyone that would have seen that as insufficient.

To do that with the amount of players that have been missing for long stretches makes it even more remarkable.

For context, Yellows went into their play-off semi-final without the services of seven first-team players. Most, if not all of them, would have started if fit.

Long-serving centre-back and captain Jay McCarten has not played since January with an ankle injury, while key striker Tony Gray and immensely talented midfielder Dylan Vassallo, the division’s young player of the year, have both spent long stretches on the sidelines.

Another midfielder, Liam Hynes, was brought in to much fanfare but a cruciate knee ligament injury ended his season in August. He would have played a massive role.

Add to that suspensions for influential left-back Rory McKeown and lightning-quick winger Mekhi Leacock-McLeod, plus the absence of the experienced Shaun Beeley for family reasons, and it demonstrates what Yellows were up against.

It is easy to look at all those players who missed large swathes of the campaign and wonder “what if they’d been fit?” Could Yellows have gone up without the need for the play-offs?

All of that is by the by, but the absence of those players has allowed others to shine.

Sean Williams’ 15 goals from midfield saw him named in the division’s team of the year, striker Jamie McDonald handled the step up from the North West Counties League with ease and centre-back Liam Goulding played every game with a maturity beyond his 21 years.

If this squad can be kept together, I certainly see no reason to believe why Warrington cannot recover from their heartache and challenge again.

Naturally, though, the vultures will circle around Cantilever Park sensing an opportunity. Not just on the playing front, but in the dugout as well.

Carden twice rejected the advances of former club Chester during the season. Will someone else offer him the chance to test himself at a higher level?

Thankfully, he has consistently insisted that he would see his job with Yellows through to its completion.

If all the ingredients can be combined, this column may be a slightly more celebratory one in 12 months’ time.

August cannot come soon enough!