"BEING injured for so long has made me realise that life's too short to keep dwelling on things and being too hard on yourself."
Grimsby Town striker Liam Hearn has tasted the highs and lows of professional football since joining the club in the summer of 2011 from Alfreton.
After netting 29 goals in his first season at Blundell Park, the forward made one substitute appearance last term before rupturing his Achilles in training and missing seven months of action.
The 'Hitman' returned for the final stages of the Mariners' bid for promotion, scoring his solitary goal on the last day of the regular season.
But, as the 27-year-old readily admits, he was a long way from rediscovering his top form.
"It did me a lot good coming back for the end of the season," Hearn told the Telegraph.
"In terms of fitness, I felt all right. I played 90 minutes and didn't really feel it until about the 80-mark which was really pleasing.
"But in terms of general sharpness and being lively around the box, I didn't feel up to my usual self. I knew that would come back but I was running out of games.
"What it has done is enable me to use that as a learning curve and hopefully I can implement that next season and have a massively better campaign.
"That spurs me on, of course it does. Sometimes in previous years I've doubted myself and been my own worst enemy.
"Being injured for so long has made me realise that life's too short to keep dwelling on things and being too hard on yourself.
"I need to enjoy it more and appreciate what I have.
"Next season you'll see that more from me and hopefully I'll put in some good performances."
Watching Hearn trudge across the pitch, through hundreds of Newport fans, after the Mariners' play-off defeat was one of the enduring images of last season.
But after their support had helped his rehabilitation from the worst injury of his career, the striker was determined to thank the travelling Town faithful in person.
"The general response from the fans has been really heart-warming, and I used that to guide my through some of the games when my Achilles was hurting and I needed help getting through that," he explained.
"Or maybe I was getting a bit tired and the Town fans gave me that extra ten per cent to push me on. I can never thank them enough for that and it's important to pay them back
"I was warned that when the scar tissue was breaking down I would feel some discomfort but not to worry about it.
"You're always going to have problems or aches when you're recovering from any serious injury – it's not going to be pain-free for a while and I'm learning that now.
"It's important now to take those performances and the confidence I got from those games into pre-season."
And having worked so hard to make his Town return before the end of last season, Hearn is now facing a battle to sit still over the summer.
He added: "It's hard for any footballer but I know I need to rest up, be patient and it won't be long before I'm back out there.
"I'm not doing any serious running because I'll do that when pre-season begins.
"But I'm still working hard on general rehabilitation and core stability, things like that.
"I've been doing quite a bit and should be in pretty good shape when I get back.
"Then I'll look to progress with the endurance work that the gaffers will put us through, along with the short and sharp stuff, which should ensure I'm completely ready for the start of the season.
"It's all about keeping yourself topped up over the summer and maintaining your base fitness, so I've been keeping myself ticking over.
"It's also important to rest up, have a bit of family time and I've been spending plenty of time with my little girl, which has been great."
