They fell 4-0 to a rampant Gateshead side in the north-east, having sealed their play-off spot with victory at Leek last weekend.

But despite the final hurdle being too much for Eastwood to clear, Cox was quick to praise his players for the effort they’ve produced over the campaign.

He said: “I was disappointed because for the first half-an-hour we didn’t turn up, and by the time we got into the game it was too late.

“We also missed a great opportunity because had we won we’d have had home advantage against Buxton, but it wasn’t to be.”

The Badgers ran head first into a Gateshead side in rampant mood, having no time to answer a blistering first-half spell.

“We caught them in the mood. Some of their football was breathtaking and the finishing was excellent,” said Cox.

“To an extent our lads weren’t ready for it, perhaps still quite pleased with themselves after Saturday’s win at Leek, and we paid for it.”

With Eastwood’s record against other sides in the upper echelons of the league this season having been very good, another day could easily have seen them win the match.

Cox said: “At the end of the day if Gateshead were that good every match they’d have won the league, so on another day we may have been able to beat them, but as they did on the opening day of the season against us they started very strongly and that won them the game.”

Saturday’s win at Leek proved to be as important as was expected, with Guiseley also picking up three points.

Despite being pegged back to 1-1 by former Eastwood star Colin Daniel, Cox’s side went on to claim the points and secure their play-off place.

“We responded well to the equaliser in what was a tough game with Leek desperately trying to stay up,“ said Cox.

“I’ve got a lot of friends at Leek so I was sad to see them go down, but of course the important thing was that we got to the play-offs and that’s what we did.”

Preparations for next season now begin in earnest, with Cox and his management team set to work on their retained list and continue looking for new talent.

The manager is aiming to keep the nucleus of the current squad together, but has identified areas where more quality is needed.

He said: “I’ve already been on the phone and I’ve had a good long chat with the chairman about what’s needed and where we want to be.

“I hate coming second and I want to win the league next year, and we’ll build a squad with that in mind. The players have been outstanding and have come so far in a short space of time, and now it’s time to take that to the next level.”

The Badgers’ final game will be next Wednesday night when they play Ollerton Town at Meadow Lane in the Nottinghamshire Senior Cup Final, with Cox keen to end the campaign on a high.

He said: “It will be tough as Ollerton are a very energetic side with some good young players, but we’ll be preparing thoroughly as we don’t want to lose a final, and it would be good to gain some more silverware.”