Iron defender Niall Canavan hailed a ‘great day’ as his side secured promotion back to League One despite suffering a 2-0 reverse to Exeter City at St James’ Park.
Having fallen to their first defeat in 29 games – and their first under manager Russ Wilcox – United fans faced a nervous wait at the final whistle as they were left counting on results elsewhere to seal the deal.Also left anxiously checking scores were the players, and Canavan told Scunthorpe-United.co.uk: “It was a little nervous waiting in there.
“No-one was sure as it [the Fleetwood score] wasn’t coming through on any of our phones. I gave my dad a ring, and he gave us the good news.”
There was a sense of irony that United confirmed promotion off the back of a defeat, having smashed a series of club and Football League records as they put together a mammoth unbeaten sequence which gradually carried them up the table.
The fact the Iron could afford to lose in Devon but still clinch promotion is testament to their application over the course of the campaign, and Canavan admitted: “Who cares [about losing]? It’s a great day for us, especially the lads who’ve been here a long time.
“It’s probably our worst result, but I don’t think anyone cares. We’ve wanted to give something back [to the fans and to the club] for a long time, and thankfully we’ve been able to do it today.”