Hackett disappointed as Stour miss play-off places

A 2-1 home defeat to Salford City yesterday, coupled with wins for both Worthington and Ashton, meant Stour missed out on a top-five finish this term in disappointing fashion.

After the defeat, Hackett said: "It's an immense disappointment but we are where we are. We finished sixth for a reason.

"In a lot of respects it has been a great season but when you get that close (and fail) there are a lot of reasons why.

"Football is cruel. We were 1-0 up on Thursday night and a win would have been enough but a ref has made a shocking decision. And again today at 1-1, for me it is a cast-iron penalty and the only one who hasn't seen it is the linesman four yards away. That makes a massive difference. So of course we are disappointed.

"With reflection there were certain times when maybe we should have been stronger.

"We left ourselves exposed and I think in the first half Matt Gould in goal hasn't had a save to make but they had one chance and took it and that is how some of our games have gone recently.

"We have conceded a few too many goals over the course of the season."

However, reflecting on the season overall, the manager was optimistic there is yet more to come from his side if they can build on this campaign.

He added: "We spent our first season in the Northern Premier League last season and from Christmas it was a disaster.

"There is pressure on me as a manager and I promised myself one big season to turn it around, and there is no question we have done that.

"It is still very raw at the moment and not being able to get over the line in front of such a big crowd is disappointing but there is momentum and people can see we are playing the right way. We play attacking football and attractive football.

"We have great people behind the scenes and I'll learn from the areas where we have fallen short.

"They are fine margins and next season's a very big challenge. Once you get this close you want to do it again."