Iron captain Sam Slocombe believes his side’s promotion back to League One is ‘just reward’ for their efforts throughout an increasingly historic season for the club.
Despite suffering their first defeat for 29 games as they fell to a 2-0 reverse against Exeter City at St James’ Park, United’s place in the top three was confirmed courtesy of rivals Fleetwood Town being held to a draw by Southend United.The success marks a dramatic change of fortune for the club after two relegations in the space of three years, and Slocombe told the Iron's official YouTube site: “It’s just reward for the 45 games we’ve played so far.
“We weren’t great today, myself included, and we’re disappointed, but what a great day. This is what it’s all about. It’s brilliant; unbelievable.”
In order for United to stand a chance of completing their campaign with silverware in the form of the League Two title, it is now likely that they must beat York City at Glanford Park on the final day – after both Chesterfield United and Rochdale edged narrowly above the Iron with weekend wins.
However, their primary concern in Devon was promotion, with the team forced to endure a tortuous wait following the conclusion of their game as several minutes of Fleetwood’s match still remained.
Fortunately for the Iron, news steadily filtered through that the Cod Army had fallen short in their bid to stall celebrations, and Slocombe added: “We had one more game left, so it was still in our hands, but it was a long three minutes.
“I just tried to chill out, and it’s been decent since. There’s still a game left, and we want to try and win the league. It’s out of our hands now, but we want a good chance to do it.”
See much more from Sam Slocombe and other United personnel on The Iron Player.