BOBBY GRANT has lifted the lid on a ‘difficult’ 2018/19 campaign - insisting he was “nowhere near” the level he demands of himself.

There was excitement when Grant made the move to Wrexham, firstly on loan in late November, before the attacker penned a permanent deal at the turn of the year.

But Grant failed to find his very best in the red shirt, scoring just twice and often finding himself at the centre of criticism from fans.

“I’ve been in the game long enough now and people do expect you to come in and tear it up,” said Grant. “I think, over my career, I’ve managed to do that during certain seasons.

“Last year, and I’m not afraid to admit it, was difficult.”

There were mitigating circumstances, however, Grant forced out of Fleetwood after a disagreement with Cod Army boss Joey Barton, before going on to play under three managers - Sam Ricketts, Graham Barrow and Bryan Hughes - at The Racecourse.

“I’ve drawn a line under last season,” declared Grant. “It was probably one of the most difficult,...but I had four managers.

“Through whatever happened at Fleetwood and Mr Barton conducting himself the way he did, unfortunately I paid the price for it, and I think it was difficult to get over because it had nothing to do with football.

“It was to do with Joey Barton and when you speak to people how he spoke to me, that’s not acceptable.

“You start off playing then a manager decides to say what he did in-front of the group and to cut a long story short you end up coming to Wrexham.

“There were three managers here and it’s hard to get settled.

“People from the outside always think ‘he should be able to adapt to that’ but it’s not that easy.

“Some managers come in and want to do their own thing, which is fair enough.

“I said to the manager that that’s all in the past now and it’s about me doing my best for Wrexham.

“When called upon I’m prepared to make sure people see exactly why I’ve played at the level I’ve played at.”

Before signing for Wrexham, Grant had played exclusively in the Football League for the likes of Rochdale, Blackpool and Scunthorpe, making over 300 appearances.

A focused Grant, who jumped at the chance to take up the option of a 12-month contract extension with Wrexham, said: “I need to get back to the levels I’ve been at throughout my career and I was nowhere near those levels last season.

“This time around it’s a fresh start with a new mentality where I haven’t got to deal with all the nonsense I had to deal with at the start of last season, which is something I’m delighted with.

“I’m not coming into an environment where you know that a personality doesn’t like you and thinks he can do what he wants.

“The lads made me feel welcome, they were great, and the majority of them are still here which I was delighted with.

“It’s a fresh start at a massive club and I’m coming into the season with the mentality of wanting to go one step further, because I thought we were good enough to do it last year and we didn’t.”