The disappointment of the result on Tuesday night was etched on the player’s faces as they walked off the pitch having been the better side against a Cheltenham side which ultimately got the point it needed to secure promotion.
With the Blues all-but mathematically ruled out of the hunt for a play-off spot, they head to Orient to face another team which came close, but is now out of reach of the top seven places.
“We should be proud of the players,” manager Chris Beech said. “We should celebrate their efforts and energies and try and see off the season in a positive manner, which will be difficult, because at this point it’s unlikely we can get into the play-offs.
“They have to adjust to that feeling. From the first day of having seven players, in the summer, they’ve worked ever so hard to get to this point, but on Tuesday night they knew they couldn’t possibly achieve something they’ve aimed at for the eight or nine motnhs.
“That’s whacked right down their throats now. It’s time to reflect on that, but we have to try and respond and play our last two fixtures properly, but we’ve hit that tsunami and we have to face it.”
“Seeing Cheltenham celebrate isn’t really something to learn much from,” he added. “They’ve achieved it this season, well done, but they’re in a different situation to us.
“I probably have spoilt a few parties in my time, probably from the clothes I had on never mind the banter. Look, Cheltenham deserve what they’re getting, well done to the manager, the staff and the players.”
Speaking about how he’ll approach the next two games, starting with the weekend trip to Orient, he commented: “We’ll have to wait and see. We respect Orient, they have enjoyed some good results at home and I know Jthey'll want that to continue, even though they have also been ruled out.
“We owe it to ourselves to do the team and the fans justice. I’ve had nine months of driving the club forwards, making standards higher, making us competitive, taking the team that was five points from relegation to non-league, to where we are now, feeling pretty disgruntled with the discrepance of Christmas that we had.
“We now have two games and six points, and we want to win those points. Orient will be the same. They have good players, good professionals who will want to do things properly.
“It’ll be a good game, and whoever we pick, we’ll be picking them with the expectation that they’ll go out and represent us and themselves properly.”