So the season is over, and it would be easy to be dispirited by the lacklustre manner in which it finished.

It made a welcome change to be comfortably clear of relegation, but it feels like we missed a real opportunity to finish in the top half of the table.

In some ways, an exciting escape from relegation may serve a club better than a drab mid-table finish: the dramatic conclusion to the 2012/13 season provoked a wave of season ticket renewals, and brought a real sense of positivity in all aspects of the club.

Ardley reaction to AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Cheltenham Town

But to wish for such a finish would be nonsensical. Anyone feeling slightly disillusioned at the way our season petered out need look no further than our final opponents, Cheltenham, for a reminder that things could be far worse.

They are an example of how one mistake can have dire consequences, how the knee-jerk decision to fire a decent young manager can backfire spectacularly.

We are a club that have grown accustomed to constant (and rapid) progression, but we'd do well to remember that slow growth is better than none at all.

Surrey Comet:

Positives: The emergence of talent from the academy - such as Will Nightingale - has been significant this season

If we're to judge the season based purely on results, then progress would seem to have been very limited indeed.

But that's a far too one-dimensional view; for the first time since non-League, we've actually been exciting to watch at times this season. We've shown the ability to take on some of the best sides in the division, and come out on top.

Our problem was a lack of continuity. Constant injuries and the loss of important players meant that while we were surely a better side than our league position would suggest, we just didn't have the consistency needed to regularly take points off the sides at the bottom of the table.

And there are other signs of development as a club: all the hard work that's gone into building our youth system is starting to pay off massively, and we're within touching distance of securing a move back to Wimbledon.

There will need to be changes made over the summer, but for the first time, our goal will be evolution rather than revolution.

We have the basis of a successful squad, and Neal's successful record in player recruitment suggests we can trust him to make us even better.

Surrey Comet:

Recruitment king: Neal Ardley with Jake Reeves 

In some ways, this season sums up what this club is about. We prioritise sustainable development over the high-risk high-reward approach that dominates football nowadays.

We'll have to accept (at least until we move back home) that this means progress may be slow, frustratingly so at times.

So for those, like myself, in need of a cause for optimism, I might suggest viewing this season not merely on its individual merit, but as a part of the whole, as one stage in the long-term development of this football club.

Every year that we improve puts us one step closer to being back where we belong. Our relentless ambition is the reason we've been so disappointed by the end to this campaign, but it's that same ambition that will keep driving us forward, one season at a time.