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After the disappointment at Brunton Park a week ago, the boss now has the task of lifting his players, deciding who is in and who is out, whilst also putting pen to paper on his own contract before the pre-season begins in July.
On Brown's future, Chairman Karl Prentice said: “Terry has a rolling contract with us and we would obviously love to have him on board. He's done a grand job. We employ managers on credibility and performance and we have been very fortunate with Terry.
“He's one of the nicest blokes in football and it's his ambition, I know, to manage in the Football League. Hopefully he can do that with us.”
Brown said: “The way I look at my job is that it's always been my dream to be a league football manager and the only way I'm going to achieve that is with a successful non-league team. So provided the directors are happy and the fans are happy — because they are the most important people — then I'll be staying.
“At the moment it's about winding down, we're all going away to Majorca where we will try and put it behind us then when we get back I'll sit down with the players and see what they want and what we want.”
The squad is set to return this Saturday and Brown believes the time away could help keep players at the Recreation Ground for another season.
“After the game the only people you want to be with are the players, they are the only ones hurting like you are. I know the fans are hurting but for these players this is their livelihood, their careers, they are the club.
“Going away, drinking and making a spectacle of yourself is a fantastic kind of therapy. The players can get together, they are a tight knit bunch and they might think ‘I don't want to lose this,' it's a rebuilding process now,” added Brown.
After decisions have been made about who to release and who to transfer list, the boss will then be looking at any offers made for contracted players, before drawing up a shopping list for the close season.
About 50% of the players at Aldershot are under contracts, and a core of players including Tim Sills, Nikki Bull, Nick Crittenden, and Gary Holloway all have another year on their contracts and are expected to remain at the Recreation Ground.
Brown said: “I'm not looking to make wholesale changes and I want to keep the nucleus of the squad and then to strengthen. The senior players who are influential in keeping the club a top five side also have ambitions of playing professional football in the league so we have to look at that.
““We have some players on contracts but if any offers come in for those players we will have to take that into account, it's not as easy as saying ‘he's on contract, or he's out,' although if any of my players are looking to move to Conference teams I think I'd need to have a good look at myself.”
And that might just be the case with Conference rivals Crawley Town and Exeter City both rumoured to be interested in luring key midfielder Challinor away from the Rec.
Whilst Ray Warburton is set to retire, fans' favourite Roscoe D'Sane also faces an uncertain future as he struggles to overcome a cruciate knee injury.
After an operation earlier this year, it had been rumoured that the striker was on his way to fitness and may even have put in an appearance at Stoke had the Shots made the final, but Brown says that this is not the case.
“Roscoe has been out for almost a whole season and we have got to look at the medical side that he still needs. He is still not fit, nowhere near it and until that's sorted we can't make decisions until he's nearer fitness.
“It may be that he needs a considerable amount of rest or may be, and I stress may, be that full-time training isn't right for him. It's a complicated injury, it isn't like a hamstring pull and he's not had any problems like this before,” added Brown.
So while the players and management team soak up the sunshine, Brown will be putting this season, and the plan for next season, on hold but if he can keep those key players out of contract, as well as hold on to those that are, the Shots could well be pushing for automatic promotion next season.
Brown added: “All the fans keep saying to me that they've had enough of the Play-Offs and next year we should just win it.
“I've heard the statistics about the fourth placed team going up the following year, so we've done the hard bit and got into fourth - if only it were that easy!”
With thanks to the Aldershot News.