AFC Fylde captain Josh Langley described Saturday’s title triumph as the ‘best day of his career’.
Langley delivered a defensive masterclass as the Coasters saw off Boston United 3-0 at the weekend to clinch the championship.
The former Wigan Athletic defender has been a part of Fylde squads that have twice missed out on promotion to the National League, but was delighted as his side proved third time lucky.
The Coasters will be presented with the trophy in their final game of the season at Mill Farm on Saturday and Langley can’t wait to celebrate with the home fans.
Langley said: “It’s fantastic. Having been beaten in the play-offs two years running, it was probably playing on our minds a bit going into the game. But we saw it through, comfortably in the end, and we are all made up.
“It was the best day of my career to date. In contrast, missing out the last two years – particularly in the final last year – have been the worst times of my career. Getting so close and missing out is tough so to get it done this time around is an amazing feeling.
“The 3-0 scoreline made it more comfortable for us and it was great to keep a clean sheet from a personal point of view. A wins a win in that situation – had it been 7-6 or 5-0 we really didn’t mind. Any result that got over the line ensured it would be a great day.
“The bus was very lively on the way home as you can imagine! It was a day that I will remember for the rest of my life.
“We had a bit of a celebration in Manchester the next day and there will be a few sore heads but it was a great couple of days and I’m sure this weekend will be the same.
“Now I can’t wait for Saturday to lift the trophy in front of the fans. The pressure is off this weekend now but it’s still a game that we want to win. Everyone at this club wants to win and get better. Saturday will be a special day but we will still be going out there to get three points.”
Promotion has long been an ambition for Langley and the centre-half admits it was one of the primary reasons for joining the club three years ago.
“One of the reasons I came here originally was to get out of this league. When you look at the set-up, everything is going in the right direction and that’s something that I want to be a part of.
“I’m sure in the future we will reach our goal of the Football League. The chairman and the manager have given everything to this club and we all take that on board.”
