DEFENDER James Bree has revealed the message owner Dragan Solak delivered to Saints players in the wake of their play-off expulsion.
In a meeting at Staplewood, Solak urged the players to return next season with renewed resolve and a fighting mentality to achieve promotion.
Bree, 28, admitted there was a lot of anger in the Saints dressing room after the news first broke, and remains disappointed by the punishment.
But the right-back agreed with Solak's rallying cry and has signed a new deal to play his part in another attempt to reach the Premier League.
“We were all so disappointed with how it ended. I’ve seen the lads speak about it. We have unfinished business," said Bree.
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"We feel like we deserve to be in the Premier League by now.
"When the boys were all together, it was still so fresh. There was a lot of anger and emotion flying about.
“It’s hard to put it into perspective, and we are still disappointed that we didn’t get the chance to go to Wembley and play there. It was tough.
"I don’t know if Daniel [Peretz] touched on it, but we had a meeting with Dragan on the Thursday, and he put it into his words.
“He said, 'The only thing you can do next year is go again, fight, and if you get promoted, you turn it all around'.
"After going away and thinking about it, it’s true. That is the only way you can make it right. We feel like it’s where we need to be.
"It will be easier said than done; it’s going to be a long season. But all of the boys will have that fight and will be raring to go when we get back."
Bree has extended his terms until 2029 after going unbeaten in the Championship following his return from Charlton in January.
The former Luton Town defender hailed the work Tonda Eckert has done to improve Saints, insisting that the German has coached him "really well".
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Eckert, who admitted to authorising spying missions on three Championship opponents, remains under investigation by the FA.
“I came back in at the end of January and was in the team ever since," Bree added of head coach Eckert.
"Tonda was so good with me, giving me so much information and letting me play my football. He coached me really well and had that belief in me from the start.
"It’s such a strange situation because I was unbeaten in the league the whole time I was back. It’s a strange feeling that we went on that run and nothing has come from it.
"We know that we’ve got a really good team. When we play our football, we know that we are a really strong team in this division.
"We will go into the season full of motivation to do it all again.”
