Paul Baker has seen it, done it and got the T-shirt.

He has been chairman of Cheltenham Town Football Club for the past 21 years and has experienced almost as many highs and lows as a fun-seeker on a big dipper.

And after so long at the helm, the 61-year-old has earned the right to say it as he sees it and, as befits a man who has done so much for a club that was part time and non-league when he took over, he isn’t prepared to take a backward step as he discusses their struggles to re-establish themselves in League Two this season.

“It’s been a very difficult season, I suppose partly because of the high expectations,” he said. “We expected to do well after taking the National League by storm last season but it hasn’t happened.

“We’d hoped to finish in mid-table or possibly even the play-offs but the team has not been able to step up and clearly the results have been very disappointing.

“Financially it’s been tough because we made a lot of changes in January and then we lost our manager Gary Johnson for a spell when he needed a triple heart bypass.

“Hopefully we can survive this season, regroup, regenerate and recruit well in the summer and improve next season.”

Next season is almost certain to be Baker’s last in charge. It will bring down the curtain on a remarkable era in the club’s history which has seen them promoted from the Southern League Premier Division, gain two promotions from non-league’s top tier, twice win promotions to League One via play-off finals as well as enjoy an FA Trophy final win at the old Wembley in 1998.

“It’s been an amazing time and we’ve achieved some incredible things,” said Baker, “but I’m looking to stand down by the end of next season. The job has given me a lot of happiness but it’s also given me a lot of stress and worry. It’s time to hand over to someone else.

“I’m not going anytime soon but I’ll retire gracefully, become a fan again and watch games without all the worry. I’ve seen so many ups and downs but we’ve been to Wembley and the Millennium Stadium and played West Ham and Spurs.

“We’ve made huge improvements to the ground so there are lots of things to be proud of, but nothing is forever. Hopefully the club can attract new sponsors as it moves forward.”

One thing that remains a big concern for Baker is the club’s pitch and he has just one word to describe it: “Awful.”

Gloucester City have been groundsharing at Cheltenham for the past seven years, an arrangement that comes to an end at the end of this season.

“It’s had a huge number of games on it,” Baker said, “too many, it just can’t deal with it. It’s very difficult for the groundsman to maintain.

“We used to win awards for our pitch and everyone is gutted to see the state it is in.

“We’ll get to work on it in the off-season and hopefully it will be much better next season.”