After finally getting a breather from what has been the best weekend in my football career, I have put together some thoughts about this brilliant season.

Firstly, on behalf of everyone in the squad, I would like to wish my mate Scott Manning a speedy recovery on his injury. He has been hugely influential on our achievements this season, and is a really great player and even better person off the pitch.

It hasn’t quite sunk in that we have actually been promoted to the Premier Division yet. After the emotions I’ve been through the past few days it’s one hell of a roller-coaster to get around. I think only when I see the pre-season tables being announced with Eccleshill United stated in the Premier table, will it actually sink in!

When I first joined Eccleshill last season I spoke to Sean (Regan) and Adrian (Benson) about where they wanted the club to go and what the plans were in the future.

I fully bought into everything they both said and I can honestly say I have found my second home at this fantastic club. From the supporters, the players, the management, the owners, the volunteers etc. I really feel passionate about what this club can achieve, and how far we can take it.

Of course we had to put all the talk into action, and despite being tested this season with things not going our way and unexpected curve balls getting thrown in, we stuck to our goals and managed to achieve the promotion we all wanted and deserved.

As I have said of many occasions, the play-offs were the target for the season before it started, and anything less would have been a massive disappointment. With the squad we have, not reaching the play-offs and challenging for promotion would have been unacceptable.

Nobody could have predicted that we would spend pretty much the whole season in an automatic promotion spot, however it wasn’t meant to be. We let ourselves down in the final run of games, and ended up having to settle for the play-offs, which was our initial target anyway.

Having felt how much it hurt to lose on the last game of the season to miss out on automatic promotion, I think it gave the lads a real boost to not feel that level of disappointment again.

Both play-off games showed exactly what we as a squad and club are about- our never say die attitude and willingness to fight until the final whistle.

Having been a minute away from promotion being snatched away from us in the semi-final & the final made this promotion all the more better.

Next season I’m sure the whole club will agree- we don’t want to be a team that makes up the numbers. We have a great squad and with a couple of additions, we want to give it a real go.

Eagles fans have some exciting games to look forward to, such as local derbies with Thackley, Liversedge and Albion Sports to come our way. Personally I’m looking forward to playing my old club Albion Sports, which I’m sure will be a thrilling game.

There are a lot of people I’d like to thank at the club too, starting with Adrian, who has made me feel at home for another season. He has constantly stayed calm throughout the whole season, even when we have had some disappointing times. Anything I need he’s always there and I’m sure the lads will agree he is a massive part of why everyone wants to be at Eccleshill.

The management team of Sean and Des (Hamilton) definitely deserve a mention. As everyone knows, Sean is the main reason why I wanted to stay on at Eccleshill United this season. I bought into his plans, goals, and targets for this season and we smashed them out of the park.

Des I also have to say a massive thank you to, for constantly being on my case! Some people would let it get to them but I always want to learn & get better. I think as the season has gone on I’ve taken his experience and guidance, and feel I’ve grown as a leader and got better as a player.

The media team (Danial Ahmed, Matthew Wilkinson and George Wood) also deserve some plaudits, as they have again upped their game with some fantastic reports, polls, pictures & stats this season.

I know from my side my mum follows all the action on Twitter as she can’t get to games, so from the outside it’s much appreciated. They give Eccleshill a real club feel and definitely put in the hours.

I’m sure they will be rewarded for all their hard work at the end of the season; they are all top lads and I enjoy helping them out with interviews etc. to help the club grow.

Nick (Hird) again, has had the pitch in immaculate condition all season. Yes we’ve had some very bad weather this season, and I’m sure he’s been frustrated, but his hard work has not gone unnoticed by the players.

I believe this season the attendance has gone up, this is again down to the media team promoting the games very well and the local community has reacted.

The lads can’t thank you enough for the support, especially in the play offs. The support was overwhelming and even in the final at Grimsby we had a very good following. Our fan of the season has to be Brett Poskett, he has been there through thick and thin this season and all the lads appreciate his support.

Beth (Britton), our physio, is another person who doesn’t go unnoticed. The lads constantly get knocks and although she must get frustrated with us moaning constantly, she just gets on with it.

She cares about the players and we can’t thank her enough. We would be lost without her. She can probably party harder than most the lads in the team too, she’s a really good friend to the squad.

As I said at the start of the season this group of players are different class. We have no divides or big egos in the changing room. We are all in this together and I think we have shown this in our performances.

When things weren’t going our way we mucked in together & showed our team spirit is second to none. We have had some top nights out and I’m looking forward to the end of the season party & many more to come next season.

The owners have come and supported us all season and it was good to see Sally (Smith-Butler) & Jay (Butler) joining us after the game. They are really great people so I’m buzzing for them, and hopefully they can enjoy many more days like Saturday!

Thank you & we look forward to a few nights out to celebrate before getting down to business in the Premier Division!

See you at the game,
Sam Bradley (Club Captain)