Stephen Maguire bowed out of the World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield saying he is relieved that his nightmare snooker season is over.

The Scot lost 10-9 despite fighting back from 9-6 down to force a 19th-frame decider against Ryan Day.

"I am actually glad this season's finished," world number nine Maguire told BBC Sport. "It has been a season from hell for me.

"I just want to forget it, but there's worse things in life."

Maguire insisted that a recent back injury had not hampered his performance against the world number 20.

"A couple of months ago, I was struggling, but the last two weeks, I've been perfect," he said. "It was nothing to do with that at all.

"If I look back on it, I lost it in the first session. If the session hadn't ended at 6-3, I would have lost 10-4.

"I was somewhere else. Being the next day, it gave myself a chance to fight back, which obviously I did."

It looked like Maguire might complete his comeback to claim victory but expressed frustration that it proved futile.

"I wish it had been 10-4, because I could be in the pub earlier," he joked.

"Obviously I am going to fight to the death - it's the World Championship - and, when it went to the decider, obviously I thought I was favourite and, if I got a chance, I would do it, but I never and I can't grumble.

"I had a chance in the last frame but never done it and that was it.

"You hope for one chance, I got it and never did it and Ryan made a good break."

Maguire lost in the Masters semi-finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan but failed to reach the quarter-finals in the German Masters, Welsh Open, World Open, Players Championship Grand Final or China Open.