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Howard had already had a defeat on the Wembley turf on his CV when Barnsley crashed out of the FA Cup to Championship rivals Cardiff City. But, he felt defeat more than ever on the 25th May 2009 when Sheffield United fell at the final hurdle and failed to make it to the Premier League,
Howard, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Express said: "I was pretty miserable after the final and my mood was not helped by being chosen to do a drugs test.
"I had sweated so much I was struggling to give one and was having a go at the testers even when I knew they were just doing their job.
“When I finally got finished I could not face the long journey back to Sheffield so decided to visit family in Southampton. The problem was that I had no transport and other than my kit, the only clothes I had was the club suit we had worn to the game.
“The first thing I saw when I boarded a train at Waterloo was a bunch of Sheffield United fans who had been to the game and of course they recognised me. I bought them all a drink to say sorry for not getting them into the Premier League.
“We talked all the way through the journey and at the end of it one of them said, ‘We never realised it matters just as much to you guys as it does to us’. I finally got in late that evening, sat down on the sofa and, I admit it, burst into tears."
Brian can play his part in trying to rectify things tonight when the Blades kick-off the campaign at Gareth Southgate's Middlesbrough.