Former Wycombe Wanderers favourite Alfie Mawson says he still hurts from the club’s play-off final heartbreak.

The centre-back scored seven times during the Chairboys' memorable 2014-15 campaign and played the full 120 minutes as they lost to Southend United on penalties at Wembley.

Now at Barnsley, the 22-year-old opened up about the lasting scars left by missing out on promotion in the programme for Sunday’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final.

“I still hurt from last year, with Wycombe, but it made me grow up. It’s made me a stronger man and more mature,” he said.

“It was a great experience for me [the play-off final]. You have to take things with a pinch of salt in football but not a lot of people can say they have played at Wembley.

“To be able to say that I’ve played there twice in my career will be brilliant. I take nothing for granted.”

Barnsley’s trip to Wembley was far more profitable than Mawson’s last visit as he helped guide them to a 3-2 win, ironically over Wycombe’s local rivals Oxford.

Having arrived at Adams Park with just 17 minutes of professional football to his name, Mawson has developed at a rapid pace since.

A place in the top three nominations for the League Two Player of the Year Award followed his breakthrough loan spell with Gareth Ainsworth’s side.

After turning down a new contract with parent club Brentford, Mawson instead joined the Tykes and has established himself as an important first team player.

Despite this climb up the footballing ladder, he remains grateful for the guidance he received while at Wycombe.

Mawson said: “I grabbed the opportunity to go on loan to Wycombe, and I haven’t looked back since.

“I am very grateful to Wycombe – I’ll always say that – to the manager and the chairman, who are both great guys and I am still in contact with them.”