Royal Wootton Bassett manager Sam Collier said it was a “goosebump moment” to see 934 people attend their playoff final with Cinderford Town.

Despite Bassett’s season not ending as they would have liked, being defeated 4-0 by Cinderford at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, but they set a new record attendance for the ground.

Collier said that even in defeat in the final game of it, the season had been one to be proud of.

He said: “It was a goosebump moment when we saw what we had, I don’t think we expected anything near that, we anticipated around 300 or 400.

“When the players came out and saw those numbers it was fantastic, to be able to play in front of 1000 people is something that not a lot of non-league players will ever do in their career.

“It was a huge financial reward for the club, but the players made that happen with what they achieved this year.

“The way that it ended was quite raw and 4-0 sounds like a drubbing, but it certainly didn’t go that way.

“We dictated the first 15 to 20 minutes and should have scored but didn’t and made two individual mistakes in the space of two or three minutes and suddenly found ourselves 2-0 down against a good side and then it is an uphill battle from there.”

Bassett followed up a first-ever top-half finish in the Hellenic League Premier Division last season with making the playoff final this time around and Collier believes that something special is building.

He said: “It has been the most exciting time of my managerial career, there didn’t used to be playoffs and when you’re not going to win the league, the season fizzles out for some teams and it can be difficult to motivate players.

“Having the playoffs has given us a real focus for the last two or three months of the season and making sure we are in the mix.

“Getting there has been an incredibly exciting time for the football club and hopefully there are more times to come.

“We want to win the league and if we can’t do that then we want to come second.

“Me and Griff [Alan Griffin] have got ambitions to manage as high as we possibly can and we want that to be with Bassett.

“We will enjoy a few days rest now and then sit down and plan for next year.”