Matt Harrold is confident he is bouncing back after “a bit of a nightmare” last season.

And nothing would underline that better than a goal against the club for whom he endured a poor loan spell last term.

Crawley’s target man is honest enough to admit his stint with Cambridge United was “really bad “.

Being transfer-listed by John Gregory was not a bundle of laughs either.

But he has been a regular in Mark Yates’ side of late, thumping in a goal in the win over Dagenham and winning fans over.

Memories of that seven-game, one-goal loan at Cambridge still rankle a little though.

He admitted: “I’ve got to be honest. It was really bad.

“I went there desperate to play football because I didn’t feel I’d had much of a chance here.

“I went there not fit, I had just been out for a month and they were really low on confidence, I could tell as soon as I got there.

“It was a really hard spell but I started to feel good by the end and scored a goal, then I didn’t play again. It was just one of those loan moves that doesn’t work out.

“It annoys me a bit because, wherever I go, I like to make a bit of an impact. I’ve got a bit of a regret with that one.

“Nothing against the club. It’s a good club, well supported, but I was disappointed how I did there.”

That put the tin lid on a season which saw him marginalised at the Checkatrade Stadium.

He said: “When John Gregory put me on the transfer list, it was because he wanted different players in.

“He saw me as someone who could move on and he could use my wages elsewhere.

“I think he was always going to play Izale (McLeod) up front and Izale predominantly played on his own.

“I was very disappointed with the fact I didn’t get many chances at all.

“But that’s football and I just knew if I got a fair chance I’d do well.

“After last season I just knew something had to go right. It was that much of a nightmare.

“Even the games I played I was quite happy how I did.

“We were a struggling team in the division so it was quite hard to shine.

“I wasn’t physically as fit as I am this season. I had injuries and probable got thrown back in when I wasn’t fit a lot of the time.

“I’ve learnt from it but I would have loved the chance in League One.

“That’s why I made the move in the first place.”

The boot is now on the other foot as Reds await players who are in the position Harrold experienced last season - arriving on loan.

He admitted: “Losing the players we did will have a bit of an effect, they are good players, but sometimes it can work the other way and freshen us all up.

“I always think when a few new faces come through the door I want to impress them.”