John Sheridan was left counting the cost of Chesterfield's 17-match winless run as he reflected on his side's relegation to League Two.
The Spireites were sitting in 14th place in mid-September but a disastrous sequence of league results from then until mid-January left the club bottom of the table.
Despite clinching the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley, Sheridan's side failed to climb out of the bottom four from then onwards, and their relegation after a single season in the third tier was confirmed with Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Yeovil.
"Going 17 games without winning has cost us big time," Sheridan told Spireites Player. "We won three on the spin and we've done it on a couple of occasions before, but I think that run affected us big time.
"I've used too many players, I don't like changing my team but I've used too many players.
"I've got to take it and if I'm here (next season) I've got to bounce straight back, it's important we do that. It's gone now, I've just got to try and hopefully make us strong and hit the ground running for next season."
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