The former Derby County striker was an incredibly popular figure at Pride Park where he came very close to winning promotion to the Premier League

Chris Martin says he can't help but look back with a tinge of disappointment at his Derby County career despite admitting it was the club where he played his best football.

Martin was a popular figure at Pride Park where he scored 76 goals in 224 league appearances after joining the club on a free transfer from Norwich City in May 2013. During that time he came close to securing promotion to the Premier League when Derby reached the play-off final at Wembley only to lose against QPR.

They then reached the play-offs again in the 2015-16 season but missed out after losing to Hull City in the semi-finals. And while Martin looks back at Derby with great pride, he says there is also some frustration.

"I think on a personal level, in terms of the club I enjoyed the most and where I had my most successful times as an individual, it would be Derby," he said.

"Obviously, at Norwich I ended up being part of the double promotion, but for me at Derby, there was that three-year spell from 2013 to sort of 2016 where I played my best football.

"I probably felt the most comfortable on the pitch. Obviously I was there for a few more years with a few loan spells in and out around that. But that spell there was probably my peak as a player.

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"I can't lie, there's a bit of disappointment when I look back, being beaten in the play-off final in the last minute, beaten again in the semi-finals, and being top of the league in the season in between that around the end of February or start of March, and somehow not even making the play-offs.

"We had a few injuries then. So I look back with fondness, but there's that little tinge of disappointment thinking about what could have been. If we'd got promoted then, what would the club look like now? Where would it be? What would our futures have been like, for the players I was playing with?

"It would be interesting to know what could have been, but you can't waste too much time thinking about it. But there are certainly those thoughts when I look back.

"I do think that team and the squad of players we had were definitely capable of stepping up to the next level. We just didn't quite manage to do it."