In their four group games, the Town lost 3-0 to Derby County, drew 0-0 with Rochdale and Bolton Wanderers and lost 1-0 to eventual winners Sheffield United – who defeated Norwich City in the final to retain the trophy.

Player-manager Paul Haynes said: "We had a very hard group and the results don't really reflect the possession we had or the chances we created, as we had more shots than any other side in the group, including two disallowed goals and we hit the post.

"The defence played well with Tony Mooney keeping two clean sheets. I'm really proud of all the lads, who played with a great spirit and wore the badge with pride."

Captain David Alker said: "We did really well against some very experienced teams that have played together a lot longer than us. We have only played a handful of games so far, so to only lose 1-0 to both the winners and the runners up of a national competition shows just how well we have done and how far we come in a short space of time and is really encouraging for the future."

Well done, gentlemen!