Hatswell's heartache inspired Daniels

Wayne Hatswell insists there's no better way to win promotion glory than via the play-offs after taking Stamford AFC into the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League's top flight, writes Tom Young.

The Daniels beat Chasetown 2-1 in the First Division South Play-off Final and despite suffering play-off heartache during his own playing days, Hatswell reckons nothing quite beats it for excitement and as an experience for the players involved when you win.

The former defender's reign as Daniels boss began in January when he was appointed to continue the club's charge for promotion, pictured. A week after completing his mission and taking the Daniels up, he said: "The Play-Offs are the best way to go up. It creates that bit of excitement, it pushes clubs and players to the limit. To win in the way we did, you can't beat that really.”

The Daniels cemented a place in the top five in the last fixture of the season, beating Mickleover Sports 2-1, and then registered a 4-2 extra-time win over Belper Town in their semi-final to secure a place in the season's showcase final. Looking back a week after the triumph, Hatswell highlighted his side's performances and mental toughness as the key to their success in the make-or-break end-of-season fixtures.

"You play two finals, they're one-off games with a lot riding on them," said the Daniels manager. "We had players that turned up for the big games and when we needed to dig deep we had the players to do so. We were behind at Mickleover and showed great character to come back and win. Then to be behind at Belper, travelling away to a team that had already beaten us, and show the never-say-die attitude and the desire on that day was immense."

The 38-year-old had a torrid time in play-offs as a player, falling short twice with Cambridge United, losing 1-0 to Exeter City in the 2007-08 Conference Final and 2-0 to Torquay United in the same fixture a year later. Hatswell said he used the experiences gained from his own misfortunes to help prepare his Stamford team to achieve success in the big occasion.

Hatswell explained: "When I was at Cambridge we probably didn't have enough of us that turned up on the day to play really well and I discussed that with the lads before this game. Play-Off Finals are not a place you want to lose. I've been in that scenario and I passed that onto the players. I told them, 'you don't want to feel like that, you've got to give it every last bit of energy, you've got to try and win.'"

In the final, Stamford struck first through Danny Brooks but were pegged back when Gary Hay levelled for Chasetown. It took an 83rd-minute strike from Ricky Miller to separate the sides and lift the Daniels into the Premier Division for only the third time in their history.

The former Newport County player-coach spoke highly of match-winner Miller but was keen to stress that everybody at the club played a significant part in the achievement. "We know Ricky is a big-game player and he delivered" said Hatswell. "He scored two important goals against Belper and he showed what a big player he is again [in the Final]. It's not just Ricky though, you could go through the whole club. It is important that everybody is thanked because that is what it took, a tremendous effort from everybody."

Stamford will line-up at Step 3 alongside FC United of Manchester and Buxton, two teams they came up against this season. The Daniels beat the Red Rebels 2-1 in the FA Trophy, but then lost to the Bucks in the following round, and also in the FA Cup.

And Hatswell hasn't wasted time in outling his main target for next season - ensuring survival. He added: "The hard work started as soon as the final whistle went, trying to stay in the division will be some achievement. I think the club's history speaks for itself, it has been swiftly relegated from Step 3 twice before, but we want to beat that history, we want to stay up and drive the club on."