Ian Holloway didn't hold back his emotions after Swindon Town's heartbreaking end to the League Two season. The Robins boss admitted he was "devastated" following a 2-1 home loss to Chesterfield, a result that crushed their play-off dreams on the final day.

Swindon needed a win to secure a top-seven finish, but Dilan Markanday's second-half strike for the Spireites proved decisive. The defeat dropped Holloway's men to ninth place, while Barnet's victory over Harrogate sealed the Robins' fate. It was a cruel end to a season that had promised so much more.

Holloway, 63, watched from the stands as he served the first match of his second touchline ban in two months. Speaking to BBC Radio Wiltshire, he was candid about the disappointment. "I can only apologise to the Swindon fans here—in their voice, I was cheering with them," he said. "We promised so much and delivered nothing in the end."

The manager pointed to the January transfer window as a turning point. "The second window killed us, the loss of Fin Munroe—who returned to Middlesbrough—and the injuries after that," Holloway explained. "I can't say how bitterly disappointed I am. It's been coming, we've been getting gradually worse since that window. I am devastated."

It's a remarkable fall for a team that sat top of League Two in mid-November and held a play-off spot for nearly the entire campaign. But a 4-0 drubbing by Grimsby eight days ago signaled trouble, and Saturday's loss was the final blow—their third defeat in four matches.

After the final whistle, Holloway kept his players and staff locked in the dressing room for two hours before emerging to face the media. "I feel like I've let everybody down," he admitted. "This has been a failure to bond and get the balance right with who we've had and who we've lost."

For a club that came so close, it's a tough pill to swallow. But as Holloway knows, in football—and in the gear you wear to face the highs and lows—resilience is everything.