Most people connected with Cambridge United have packed away the nightmarish memories of last season and stored them away in tightly sealed boxes in the dark recesses of their minds, but spare a thought for the one man who had to endure just a little more than most of us.
Just one player was present every step of the way, without even a moment's rest from the fraught action, so it's no wonder that Michael Morrison is looking slightly older than his tender years.
This season the U's are enjoying much improved fortunes and Michael has been afforded the opportunity to rest already this term, but that doesn't mean that the pressure is off.
"It's a different kind of pressure this year," he observes. "Whereas last season we were making lots of mistakes and often in matches which were already over, this year we've improved and the mistakes are more noticeable simply because there's less of them."
And that is certainly true. Where last year counting the mistakes would have been an undertaking of epic proportions, this year you can count them on one hand.
Another dimension to this new kind of pressure is expectation. Despite being in the thick of the promotion chase and safely through to the FA Cup 1st round, the young centre-half describes the past month as 'frustrating':
"We feel we've had a few matches we should have won so it's been frustrating. As a team we believe we should have a few more points on the board. We've kept ticking over but there's a feeling we might have pushed on a bit more."
But the 19-year-old is keen to emphasise that the sense of frustration is a positive thing: "It just shows the expectation there is, not just from the fans but as a team too; all the lads are disappointed not to be higher up the table, and we're sitting in fifth so it's definitely a good sign."
A good sign indeed, in fact the stats are impressive; just one defeat in twenty matches and a defensive record more thrifty than a cheapskate husband on Valentine's Day, so what has been the cause of this remarkable transformation?
Well, it's nothing magical, just that most sought after of modest commodities in the football world - consistency: "We've had a more settled side this season and that makes a huge difference when you're trying to put some form together. Whereas last season people were coming and going, now everyone knows their job and I think everyone can see the benefits."
Morro is also quick to praise the influence of the new players: "Some of them have been involved in promotion teams so they know what it's about, and they've just given everyone a lift. Some players were lacking confidence last season and now they've got that bit of belief.
"Take someone like Quints (Darren Quinton) who might have struggled a bit last year, but he started this season brilliantly and it's such a shame he's out injured now," says Morrison of his former youth team-mate.
Morro is yet to get off the mark with a goal this season, but he revealed that he has been getting stick from one team-mate for an altogether different reason: "Mark Peters has been having a dig at me for not getting enough bookings, but I think it's just because I stay on my feet and only make good, clean challenges!"
One would struggle to disagree with that as Michael has extinguished the threat of many opponents this season.
On the subject of his failure to score, he is modest in setting his targets: "The lads keep saying I'm never going to score this season, so I think if I can get one I'd be happy!"
He is, however, full of praise for the players who have carried a goal threat for the side this season: "We know we can score goals this season, which is so important.
"If we're a goal down we always feel we can get one back, and it's not just the strikers; Rob Wolleaston has got a couple, Mark Convery scored at Stevenage, Courtney is getting involved too, so we've got players in every department who can score goals."
The defender reserves extra praise for top-scorer Scott Rendell, saying, "He's on fire at the moment and has eleven goals, he's doing so well. But Leo too, he got a hat-trick against Farsley and he's doing well," he adds.
He shows his bravery by suggesting that the big striker ought to stop laughing at his own jokes, but did step in to defend his colossal team-mate against charges of whinging: "Leo has got one of those faces where he always looks like he's moaning, but he's not that bad - he's a laugh actually, in his old-man sort of way, but he needs to stop laughing at his own jokes!"
Michael's own form has been impressive too, with interest from league clubs and reports of an offer from Southend in pre-season, but he's not getting carried away: ''It's nice to be linked with bigger clubs, but I'm here at Cambridge to do a job, and they're paying my wages so I'll give everything I've got for this club."
He's an ambitious young man and he doesn't deny his desire to play league football, but can't see any reason why he can't achieve that with Cambridge United: ''Of course I want to play league football but we've got every chance of being in the league next season, so if we work hard this season and keep up with the pace I could be playing league football with Cambridge United, which would be excellent."
Another mark of his own personal progress is the recognition of being named in the England 'C' squad (formerly National Game XI) this month, and not for the first time.
Tomorrow Michael will be flying off to Finland to represent his country in the International Challenge Trophy and he is looking forward to it: ''It's a good experience, and really interesting because you get to meet a few of the lads from other teams in the league and you can see how they're feeling about their chances. I've got to know a few of them now because I've been involved a couple of times, so it's definitely something I'm looking forward to doing again."
Speaking on the eve of the trip to league leaders Torquay, Morro was in buoyant mood: ''We're not going down there for a point, we take a point down with us. I think we can win, like we did at Stevenage when they were top and everyone had them down as favourites. The pressure is on them because nobody is expecting us to win, but if we can win the ball in their half and make the fans nervous I think we've got a great chance."
Of course we all know his belief was well-founded; Michael turned in another solid display as United became the first side to win at Plainmoor this season.
And the youngster is in equally optimistic mood about today's encounter: ''It's a winnable tie for us, we fancy beating anyone at home and this one is no different."
It is Morro's first match in the FA Cup first round proper and he spoke about the possibility of reaching the 3rd round and drawing one of the big Premiership clubs: "If you can get a big tie, home or away, it's a huge boost for everyone, not just the fans but the players want that too, and of course it brings some money into the club."
On the subject of big Premiership clubs, it's worth remembering that Michael has trained with Newcastle United, Everton and Chelsea, something he describes as a 'great experience' but he shakes his head as he recalls another encounter with a Premiership team, the match against West Ham last August: ''That was a tough test for me,'' he reflects, with a wry smile.
"I saw the board go up and they took off Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole, and then on came Marlon Harewood and Teddy Sheringham! We had about twenty minutes left and I was blowing, I looked across to the bench but didn't get much sympathy!"
It may not be quite so tough in the Blue Square Premier, but Michael has been up to the challenge so far this term and he is cautiously optimistic about where this 'bright start' may lead: ''With the start we've had, we would be disappointed not to be up there at the end, so we've got to keep on working hard, defending well and scoring goals and I think we'll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season."
But he warned that the Christmas period will be crucial: "It will be a real test for us - we've got Burton, a couple of matches against Histon and I think we've got Exeter too, so it's going to be hard work, but we've got no fear and a lot of confidence, so we think we're in with a chance," he concluded, with a stronger conviction that his words suggest.
Such a positive outlook would have been impossible last season, but this 'new' Cambridge United is made of stronger stuff and Michael's evident self-belief and faith in those around him is typical of the spirit we've seen from Jimmy Quinn's men this season.
Those who haven't yet finished lugging those burdensome boxes of bad memories to the back of your mind might want to do so now, because we need to make room for crate-loads of positive ones, to be delivered by May 2008!
Russell Greaves
* This interview was originally published in the programme for the match against Aldershot on Saturday 10th November, 2007
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