FIRST of all I would like to say a massive congratulations to everybody at Bury.

I am absolutely delighted for everyone connected to the club – the management and backroom staff, the players and the fans.

I know how hard they have all worked for this.

It is a shame I couldn’t be at the game, but for the first time in ages I was able to soak up every kick of the final day as a fan.

I was travelling down to Colchester ahead of Preston’s last game of the League One season the following day.

We had the radio on all the way down and were glued to the action, first listening to the Championship games pan out and then League Two.

As a player you don’t get the same experience as those on the terraces, but after going through the ebb and flow of the final day I now know just what supporters are put through.

It was so up and down, from Southend going behind early on at Morecambe and then equalising, Wycombe moving above Bury into the top three and then Tom Soares turning the day on its head with his goal, it was something else.

I have to say, the coverage on the radio was brilliant, going from ground to ground and really stoking the tension.

But I don’t know how much more of that I could have taken – waiting for the final whistle to blow at Tranmere was an absolute killer.

The fact Bury were able to set up that final-day drama was a testament to the character of the players.

The test of a good side is always how they cope with adversity, and the way they knuckled down during their bad patch in November and December to come out the other side fighting was the key to this promotion.

I said many times before in my column that it is easier to chase than to be chased, and I think the fact Bury remained in the chasing pack up to the last day worked in their favour.

Of course, the manager will have preferred to have had the points in the bag earlier, but you saw by the way the pressure finally told for Wycombe and Southend how difficult it is to be the one out front.

I know from my experience losing with Bury against Tranmere in the play-off semi-finals in 1990 how important it was to get the job done in the regular season.

And while they say there is no better feeling than winning promotion at Wembley, I doubt the players and fans at Prenton Park on Saturday would swap their experience for anything.