Gary Johnson must be ruthless after unsatisfactory finish
It has not been a terrible year, but it has certainly failed to live up to expectations and Johnson is not one to settle for lower mid-table finishes.
The manager will therefore be forced to make more changes than he may have been planning a couple of months ago.
Cheltenham's 2-1 defeat at Crewe was their sixth in seven games, sending supporters away for the summer break with a sour taste in their mouths.
Johnson is fully aware that keeping the majority of his squad together, minus Harry Pell, Carl Winchester and Mo Eisa, who all look set to leave, is unlikely to result in a play-off push in 2018/19.
Difficult decisions are going to have to be made on some who may be borderline, with Jamie Grimes, Jordan Cranston and Sanmi Odelusi the three whose futures appear to be the most unclear.
Two players contracted for next season have also been told they do not feature in Johnson's plans at this stage.
With £100,000 coming in from Colchester United for Pell and at least £1million on the cards for Eisa, Johnson will have a healthy budget to play with as he rebuilds, almost from scratch.
His first new addition has been another from the London non-league scene in winger Alex Addai, who he will hope can go some way towards emulating Eisa's success.
But Johnson's priority will be adding three or four players with a proven track record of success in the Football League, because Cheltenham have come up short so many times when facing more streetwise opposition.
He also faces the considerable challenge of uniting a club currently divided, with sections of the fan base losing faith and demanding change.
Defensive calamities the story of the season
For all Crewe's neat and tidy football, it was two simple punts upfield that led to their goals against Cheltenham and it an all too familiar tale.
Grimes made a hash of the first in the 17th minute, facing his own goal and becoming tangled up which allowed Shaun Miller to score the first of his brace.
The second was a mistake from Will Boyle and after one effort was blocked in the box, Miller was on hand to fire in his second in the 62nd minute and that proved to be the winner.
Every player in League Two will be prone to occasional lapses, but with Cheltenham this season it has almost been inevitable that at least one goal will be gifted to the opposition in every match.
That is one the main reasons for their inability to put sustained runs of positive results together and why they have ended up 17th in the table, when on occasions they have looked far better than that.
Positive attacking play has been undermined by substandard work at the other end of the pitch and Johnson will know a solid defensive platform is essential if they are to have any chance to mounting a challenge next season.
Youngsters acquit themselves well at Gresty Road
Crewe set the standard in the lower leagues for bringing through homegrown players and it was a truly remarkable achievement to be able to field an XI made up entirely of academy products against Cheltenham on Saturday.
The man who scored both goals, Miller, is back at the club on loan from Carlisle United, and could be set to rejoin Crewe this summer at the age of 30.
Cheltenham may not yet be in the same league as their hosts in terms of player development, they did start with two youngsters at Gresty Road.
Rhys Lovett made his Football League debut in goal, covering for Scott Flinders who underwent planned hip surgery on the morning of the game.
Lovett could not have done anything about either of Miller's goals, both the result of defensive errors.
His shot stopping ability has never been in doubt, but he also claimed every ball delivered into the box safely and could be heard shouting at his backline.
Communication is an area of his game that has progressed significantly since a long term loan spell at Shortwood United last season.
The 20-year-old had waited three years for his first chance in a league match for Cheltenham, but there were little signs of nerves.
At the other end of the pitch, George Lloyd started on the left of a front three, scoring his second goal in three League Two starts to make it 1-1 in the 34th minute.
Both prospects can look back on a job well done at Crewe.
He tapped in from close range at the far post after a scuffed shot from Eisa fell to him and his early contributions continue to suggest he can have a major role to play next season.
Next season must be Matt Bower's breakthrough year
Many had hoped to see the big defender start the game, but he went on from the bench in the 69th minute.
It was his longest run out yet in a League Two match and he looked comfortable, earmarked as a future starting centre-half by Johnson, who did not feel it was the right time to throw him into the starting XI.
Next year will be the one Bower must convince Johnson he is ready to play regularly in the first team.
He is strong in the air, comfortable on the ball and has the stature needed to thrive as a Football League defender.
Bower, from Charlton Kings, feels he is ready, but it seems Johnson wants to see more confidence and character from him next term.
The best way to build that may be to throw him in and see how he copes.
Carl Winchester looks to be on his way to county rivals
Harry Pell was not included in the squad at Crewe, due to his proposed move to Colchester United.
The midfielder had been given permission to speak to the Essex club after a £100,000 bid was accepted, finishing the season as he started it (when a move to Blackpool fell through).
Carl Winchester was also absent at Crewe, pulling out with a hamstring injury on Friday.
It now seems inevitable the captain will be leaving after 18 months at Whaddon Road.
Cheltenham have done all they can to persuade him to stay on, but he has been made an extremely lucrative offer by Forest Green Rovers, who are set to have one of the biggest playing budgets in League Two next season.
Winchester wants to play in League One and there has been some interest from that level, but Rovers are thought to be favourites to land his signature at this stage, with a quite staggering offer on the table which will be hard for the Northern Irishman to resist.
Crewe Alexandra (4-4-2): Garratt; Ng, Wintle, Ray, Pickering; Ainley (Porter 64), Lowery (Green 64), Jones, Kirk; Miller, Reilly (Bowery 50). Subs not used: Richards, Walker, Lundstram, Sterry.
Cheltenham Town (4-3-3): Lovett; Moore, Grimes (Bower 69), Boyle, Cranston (Sellars 69); Atangana, Morrell, Chatzitheodoridis; Odelusi, Eisa, Lloyd (Wright 73). Subs not used: Grimshaw, Page, Thomas, Graham.
Referee: M Sailsbury.
Attendance: 4,350 (237 from Cheltenham).
Star Man: Nigel Atangana.
