Well the play-off dream is over but it wasn't for the want of trying.
We certainly didn't let our season peter out but realistically we needed to win all our remaining games which, after losing at Rotherham last Tuesday, couldn't be done.
We played extremely well at Rotherham but came up against, in my opinion, th
e best side in the league. There's no big names in their side but they work hard for each other and are difficult to break down; slightly similar to us really.
I've played at Don Valley Stadium before, in a reserve match when I was younger, but it was still a strange experience. It felt that there was very few people there and therefore the atmosphere was shocking.
In contrast, the game at Exeter had over 8,500 people hoping to see their side clinch promotion. On the bus on the long journey home we, the players, thought that the atmosphere would have earned them an extra 15 points this season. That's possibly the difference between promotion or not – and we didn't say the same thing on the way home from the Rotherham game.
At Exeter, a crazy five-minute spell just after half-time cost us the game but to come from a goal behind showed our fighting spirit. We still should have won but the referee thought that Drums had handled. That didn't surprise us as the referee had a stinker of a game.
His performance was summed up at full-time when he sprinted down the tunnel for fear of a pitch invasion. Isn't his job to ensure the safety of players at all times (even after the final whistle)? Obviously not.
I've never seen anything like that before but he amazed us all afternoon.
The performances in our last two games have been far better than the previous two but, football being football, we've only picked up one point rather than six.
I read Arsene Wenger's comments with interest regarding the possible exodus of foreign players in the summer due to the recent 50 per cent tax being introduced and the weak pound.
Personally I hope many of the foreigners do go abroad as it would, in the long run, make the national team more competitive.
Claudio Ranieri echoed those sentiments by saying that it's 'fake' to have three English sides in the Champions League semi-finals when there is so many foreigners in them and having an unsuccessful national team.
It's alright having the best league in the world but, ultimately, the national side should be the most important thing at Soho Square. Hopefully the much talked about 6+5 rule will come into force, which will also improve the national side.
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