He admits to having had good days and bad days, but not once did Cliff Byrne ever question whether he'd pull on a Scunthorpe United shirt again.

An 11-month lay-off was finally brought to an end at Notts County on Saturday when the Iron defender returned to action for the first time since January.

It was the culmination of many months of hard work which had seen Byrne return to training several times, only to suffer a reaction and find himself back on the sidelines.

"There was never a severe setback, it was just we thought we were further along than we were," said the skipper.

"We just maybe jumped the gun once or twice, but that's going to happen. I was eager to get back.

"You've just got to bide your time.

"You have good days and you have bad days but I always had a strong self-belief, coupled with great support.

"It's what I love, it's what I want to do and nobody was going to take it away from me lightly.

"I can't put it into words, I could sit here all day and tell you how I felt.

"It's part and parcel of football, but the good thing is I've got a very, very supportive family, a close-knit group of friends and a terrific football club that's supported me all the way.

"I can't ask for any more than that.

"I've worked tirelessly, in particular over the last three or four months, to get to where I am now.

"I'm just going to build my fitness up now as I'm playing the games. There's no other way to get match fitness than being in competitive games where it means a lot, and Saturday meant a lot."

Personnel may have changed while Byrne has been out; his role as captain however, has not.

Even while not being able to take part in games, Byrne has been keen to make his voice heard.

"It is different," he said of the United squad.

"But I've been in and around the dressing room and have been training these last four or five weeks.

"I'm not a quiet lad, I'm a bit of a character around the place so the lads are well aware of me and I'm well aware of them.

"It's a good bunch of lads. We just need to stick together."