TO GAUGE the magnitude of the 12 months gone by, club captain Cliff Byrne has hailed it as 'the biggest year of my career.'

The Irishman was part of the famous League One title-winning side of 2007, but ranks the achievements of the current crop higher up in the grand scheme of successes.

"Without a shadow of a doubt it's been the biggest year of my career," said Byrne.

"To achieve what we have and to have been fortunate to have been captain throughout it as well has been an immense honour and I'm immensely proud.

"It will take a lot to top it off after visiting Wembley twice and it all coming down to the last game of the season.

"And then in the play-offs, going through on a penalty shoot-out, it was just terrific and everyone played their part."

The club skipper had quite a menu to pick from when it came to choosing his highlight of 2009.

It was between leading the Iron out as captain in the League One play-off final at Wembley or scoring the dramatic late goal against Tranmere on the last day of the season that sent United into the play-offs.

"It's a tough one but it would have to be walking out at Wembley in the play-off final," Byrne decided.

"We had walked out of there seven weeks earlier having lost, which was bitterly, bitterly disappointing.

"It was a hard pill to swallow and at that time we didn't even look like we were going to get into the play-offs.

"Looking back on the two Wembley trips, people will say that out of the two, we would have taken the play-off win.

"And of course we would but we wanted to be winners on the biggest stage and we felt as low as a snake's belly after the final whistle in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

"But that just goes to show the beauty of football, one week we were on our bellies and the next we were up on a high.

"So for us to turn things around in the way that we did as a team and as a club, and come out as winners in the play-offs, was immense."

Read the rest of this article, as well as a full look back over an eventful year with Iron manager Nigel Adkins, in today's Scunthorpe Telegraph.