Steve Cotterill met with the press after our final game of the 2022/23 season.
Despite being the better side for much of the game, Town fell to a 1-0 defeat away at Lincoln City on Sunday afternoon.
Salop hit the bar twice and forced Lincoln goalkeeper Carl Rushworth to make a host of saves, but they couldn't find that crucial goal.
Lincoln had an opportunity to double their lead when Chey Dunkley was sent off for a foul in the box. Fortunately, Marko Marosi pulled off a stunning save to deny Max Sanders.
The boss discussed the game, the relationship between the team and the fans
ON THE GAME:
"I can't believe we've been beaten. I thought we were excellent today, real good value for the three points - that's it in a nutshell.
"[Their] keeper has made some great saves, we've hit the bar twice - I just thought we were the better team today by a mile.
"It's gutwrenching really. There's been so much hard work that has been put in and we wanted to finish in that top 10.
"And had we gone and won the game today, which we deserved to win, it would have at least put us up to 11th. I suppose 12th has been real progression, it just doesn't feel like it at the moment.
"I feel sad at the moment. I'm really really proud of them, quite emotional. There's just been so much, so much adversity we've had to fight through this season and we've done it. We've fought and fought right up until the last minute, even when Chey was sent off we fought until the last minute.
"I went in their dressing room after the game and congratulated them and Mark (Kennedy) and his staff because I like them,
"I think they're a really good, solid community club. They all support each other and I like it, I like them.
"It was tough to do but then it was even tougher to go and speak to my guys. That's it now, all done. Season over."
ON CHEY DUNKLEY'S RED CARD:
"It was that far away that I couldn't see it. I thought the ref was a little bit pedantic today. It's a tough place to come, Lincoln, and they're noisy and they do well for their team.
"I thought that, in the first half, their striker stood on Marko (Marosi) twice, which you're not allowed to do now, and didn't say anything to him.
"Then we do it once and he says something to him, so I thought, I would say we get homers (refs who lean towards the home side) in this league and I thought he refereed the game a bit like a homer, yeah.
"I still think we deserved to win regardless of his performance."
ON MARKO'S PENALTY SAVE:
"That was good because we didn't deserve to get beaten 1-0, let alone 2-0."
ON THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FANS AND THE TRANSITION HE'S OVERSEEN:
"I don't think it's strong mutual respect, I think it's love. That's something a solicitor would write, I think it's quite simple really.
"I said when I came into the club that I wanted to get a connection between the team and the supporters and I think we've done that.
"I was looking through the team I had when I first came in here who, like I said, I'll never forget for what they did for me.
"I'll never forget them like I'll never forget these boys.
"And there are a lot of them who have gone on and retired or been relegated.
"The good thing about it ( is when it gets put up on the TV screens you're going to see Shrewsbury Town in that top half and that hasn't been seen for quite a while.
"Huge thank you to our supporters, a huge thank you to my players, a huge thank you to my staff and to you guys (the media) who have been incredibly supportive. I think that's it - thank you to everybody."
ON THE CLUB'S PROGRESS ON AND OFF THE PITCH:
"That's not for me to judge. It's for me to judge if we've moved on as a football team and that has certainly happened.
"If you think about the loan players who have come in and been totally committed, Christian Saydee probably shouldn't have ever stepped on the pitch today. But he went on, straight through the pain barrier in the last 5 or 6 minutes.
"The loan players have been like our own, they've been great lads, mixed in with a quite brilliant dressing room.
"I suppose about the lads, you're speaking to Luke Leahy afterwards and he can tell you a bit more about the lads but it has been a huge season of progress but I always want a little bit more."
ON WHAT IT TAKES TO KEEP THE CLUB PROGRESSING:
"I don't know the answer to that.
"There is a restructure going on and I do not quite know what that entails.
"So I don't know. The football season now has finished and I need to have time to take stock of it all and maybe see my family in a little bit."
ON IF THE RESTRUCTURING LEADS TO UNCERTAINTY:
"I should not be answering that question, should I?
"There are enough other people who could answer that question.
"When did you read it (the article saying Shrewsbury Town have made an approach for Cheltenham Town's director of football, Mickey Moore)? That is when I read it.
"This answer is no, I cannot shed any light on it.
"That is the honest answer, someone sent me a link, maybe I am not that important."
