David Artell says the Mariners must use the pain of Friday night’s play-off heartbreak as motivation to come back stronger, after Town’s Sky Bet League Two campaign came to a cruel end at the Peninsula Stadium.

Despite producing a spirited comeback from two goals down and dominating large periods of extra time, the Mariners were denied a place at Wembley by a late Salford City winner in heartbreaking circumstances.

Speaking shortly after the final whistle, the Town boss reflected on the disappointment of the result, the pride he feels in his players and the progress made throughout the season.

Here’s everything Artell had to say following Friday night’s play-off semi-final second leg…

On the emotions after the final whistle

Artell admitted the manner of defeat was incredibly difficult to take after Town fought back brilliantly to force extra time.

“We’re obviously disappointed,” he said.

“There’s no getting around the fact that there are some really upset people in our dressing room.

“I do think we deserved it on the night.

“To come back from a two-goal deficit with the spirit we showed and the football we played, I thought there was only going to be one winner at one point.

“Then we get done by the sucker punch right at the end and that’s football.

“It’s a cruel, cruel sport sometimes.”

On Town’s response after falling behind

The Mariners boss felt his side grew stronger as the game progressed and believed they were the better team for long periods after Salford opened the scoring.

“I don’t think there was anything in the game for an hour,” he said.

“Then their goal sparks us into life and from there until full-time I thought we were much the better team.

“In the first half of extra time especially, we were creating chances and looked the more likely side.

“Greeny’s had a chance, Cooky had a chance, Justin had a chance.

“They weren’t easy chances, but they were chances all the same.”

On the decisive late goal

Artell admitted Town were punished once again by fine margins after conceding another goal similar to the one scored in the first leg.

“Lo and behold, with a minute to go their lad goes through and scores a similar goal to the first leg,” he said.

“If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you can get punished.

“They scored two corners and two very similar goals across the tie.

“It’s play-off football. It’s not easy and it’s decided by fine margins.”

On his pride in the squad

Despite the heartbreak, Artell was quick to praise the attitude and commitment shown by his players throughout the campaign.

“I’m always proud of them because I think they give everything for the football club,” he said.

“That makes me proud because I can go to sleep at night knowing the players would run through a brick wall for the football club.

“That’s the bare minimum, but they’ve come a long way as a group.

“We’ll improve it again in the summer.”

On using the disappointment as motivation

Artell challenged his players to channel the pain of defeat into future growth and development.

“They’ve got to use this feeling,” he said.

“At some point in the next 24 hours, understand exactly how you feel right now and use it as fuel.

“It’s painful. I’ve lost in a play-off final myself and it’s not nice.

“But if you use it in the right way, you can make sure you never lose one again.”

On the supporters

The Mariners boss reserved special praise for Town’s supporters following another outstanding away turnout in Greater Manchester.

“We’ll thank them for the support because we know we could have filled their whole ground with our fans,” he said.

“They’ve been magnificent home and away.

“I think they’ve got a team they can be proud of. I certainly am.

“I’m devastated for them as much as anyone that we didn’t manage to get over the line.”

On the progress made under his tenure

While Friday night’s result brought obvious disappointment, Artell believes the club has continued to move forward significantly over the last two-and-a-half years.

“We’ve made significant progress since I’ve been at the football club,” he said.

“We’ve certainly made progress this year.

“We’ve got to go better next year.”

After a season filled with memorable moments, remarkable resilience and huge strides forward both on and off the pitch, the Mariners’ campaign may have ended in heartbreak, but Artell’s message was clear: this group will use the pain of defeat to fuel the next step forward.

You can watch David Artell’s full post-match interview below:

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