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Play-off tears had dried, farewells been said at Lostock, Conor Bradley had one more thing to do before heading back down the road to Liverpool.
The teenager’s crestfallen expression had summed it up at Oakwell last Friday as his loan spell with Wanderers had ended one match short of its intended target.
Bradley will take with him back to Anfield glorious memories of lifting the Papa Johns Trophy in April but did not manage to book a return trip over two disappointing ties against Barnsley, home and away.
The Premier League beckons now for the Northern Irishman, buoyed by Jurgen Klopp’s interest in testing him at a higher level next season, or potentially bringing him into the first team fold once more.
First, Bradley had a message to send to fans who had stayed well beyond the final whistle in South Yorkshire to serenade their beaten team, and those who had been so entertained by his performances the whole season through.
“They took me in as one of their own since day one,” he told The Bolton News.
“I’ll miss just turning up here every day. There is always such a good, positive vibe about the place.
“I’m so thankful to the fans. They have been unbelievable and their support all season, up and down the country, has been madness.
“I am so thankful to them for the time I have had here.”
It hard to imagine that every Bolton fan does not reciprocate. Bradley will be a tough act to follow when Ian Evatt looks to reshape his squad this summer, with an eye on aiming for automatic promotion next time around.
He claimed the club’s Player of the Year trophy and shared Young Player of the Year with fellow loanee, and partner in crime, James Trafford, who said an equally emotional good-bye to the supporters in the aftermath of the Barnsley game before heading back to Manchester City.
Life goes on, and for Bradley that will mean leaping back into the goldfish bowl on Merseyside and proving he has progressed sufficiently to stay among the senior set-up.
Pre-season tours of the Far East and Europe are planned, and there will be ample time to prove to Klopp – who has kept regular contact during his time at Bolton – that he is ready for more.
“It will be weird not turning up at Bolton for the first few weeks,” he said.
“I went pre-season- with Liverpool not last season but the one before and to go around, other countries, it is a great experience. You get to meet the fans out there in other countries, I’m sure it will put me in good stead.
“It’s definitely a big pre-season for me now because I want to catch his eye and do well. I want to play for Liverpool and I am looking forward to it.
“I came here to get as much experience as I could and to play as many games as I could, and I think I only missed four or five max by the end of it.
“My end goal is to play for Liverpool but this has been a great start to the journey and I have loved every minute.”
If concerns were expressed over the wiry Bradley’s ability to handle the physicality and brutality of League One football at the start of his Bolton career, they were quickly assuaged. Not only did he learn to deal with the rougher elements, he also gave plenty back, and only three players in the division picked up more bookings along the course of the season.
“To be fair, I got better towards the end of the season – but that would be the only negative part,” he grinned.
“I have always played the game like that, I’m quite aggressive and tenacious, so whenever I get hit, I don’t like it, I want to get one back.
“But it has been about learning not to do anything rash. So many of the yellow cards I got, I didn’t need. There was no point in them.
“I learned towards the end of the season that I was being a bit stupid, so to lay-off them and focus on the game a bit more.”
A year older, stronger and wiser, Bradley will have a short break before jumping back into international mode for Northern Ireland, who have Euro qualifiers against Denmark and Kazakhstan coming up next month.
Trafford will also be in action for England’s Under-21s and – for a few months at least – Wanderers fans can perhaps claim part-ownership.
What of the chances that the two loan stars will meet internationally, one day?
“We spoke about that,” Bradley said. “It would be a bit mental if we did get to play against one another but hopefully we do see that one day. I’ll put one past him.
“It’s a new start with Northern Ireland now, a fresh wave of young players coming in and doing well. With Michael there, hopefully we can get back to a major competition because he got us there in 2016, it is everyone’s aim now.”
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