Aaron Pierre is determined to use the pain of losing the League Two play-off final as a driving force behind another promotion push next season.

The 22-year-old, who made 49 appearances at the heart of Wanderers’ defence this season, was left “devastated physically and emotionally” by the events of Saturday’s showpiece match but he reflected favourably on his first full season in professional football.

Losing is not something which the imperious centre-back ever wants to be associated with and he hopes to use the hurt of defeat to Southend as a springboard to success when the League Two season gets going again in August.

“You can only progress from here,” he said in the immediate aftermath of the loss at Wembley.

“Believe me, it hurts deeply and I’m devastated now, but for you to not have this feeling again you need to make sure you get automatic promotion and finish in the top three, and that’s our target [next season] for sure. It’s definitely my target.”

When Pierre joined from Brentford last summer after a three-month loan spell at Blues he didn’t expect the team to have amassed a club record points haul, bearing in mind where they were coming from the season before.

Chesterfield won League Two last season with the same total as Wycombe accrued this campaign and, having missed out on a place in the top three by just one point, defeat at Wembley only served to compound frustrations at another near miss.

Pierre said: “It’s crazy because getting 84 points would have made us champions of the league last year so you can tell that the teams are getting stronger and getting a lot better.

“We fell short, just a little bit short. All we needed was an extra point and it would have made a massive difference. It’s crazy to say it considering the fact that we had a remarkable season, but every point makes a difference.”

The defender is big on setting himself goals and playing at the national stadium was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

You’d be hard pushed to find a younger centre-back pairing than Pierre and his close friend Alfie Mawson, whose loan spell expired after Saturday’s match although his future at parent club Brentford looks unsure with his contract coming to an end in June.

The pair have won rave reviews from fans and media alike this season and culminated in Pierre wining the club’s Young Player of the Year award while Mawson swept up Players’ Player and Fans’ Player of the Year.

The man who took a chance on the pair, who had eight games in the Football League between them when the season started in August, Gareth Ainsworth has been rewarded with the youngsters’ displays, and Pierre plans to help Blues push on next season.

“It was a dream come true playing at Wembley in itself and that was a massive tick off my list of life goals,” Pierre said.

“Winning it would have been the cherry on top, but life goes on. You win some and you lose some but whenever you lose you have to make sure that you bounce back and make it a positive experience.

“Everything was all positive from the gaffer, there was no negative vibes and he told us before and after the game that no matter what happens he’s proud of us because no one expected us to be playing and competing in the play-off final, let alone getting 84 points and breaking a club record.

“He’s very happy with us and he wants us to kick on from here.”

Click here to see a gallery from the play-off final.