Roy McFarland admitted to Setanta Sports he never expected the roller-coaster ride that led to Burton’s promotion.
Burton enter the Football League for the first time in the club’s history courtesy of a dramatic final day that saw The Brewers lose to Torquay, only to then find out that Cambridge had done them a favour by failing to beat Altrincham.
McFarland took over as manager halfway through the season, after Nigel Clough had built up a 15-point lead for Albion before leaving to take over at Derby.
From there Burton lost their stability, but McFarland managed to hold things together long enough to lead Albion into the Football League for the first time in 59 years.
“When [Burton chairman] Ben Robinson asked me to help out, I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was,” he told Setanta Sports.
“I’m pleased for Burton Albion. We are now a Football League club, we’ve made a little bit of history.
“Nigel Clough started this all off 10 years ago by building the team, but this is also a time to acknowledge that this club has only gone forward because of Ben Robinson.
“The way he has run the club, the way he has moved from a rickety old stadium to a brilliant new ground, he’s got what he deserves.
“Now the question is, can we stay in the Football League?
“First things first, we’ve got some issues...some contracts to sort out. But these things are easier to sort out when you’re in the Football League.”
Burton chairman Robinson took time out to acknowledge the effort of Clough, and to express his relief at the realisation of a dream.
“So many people had been talking us being champions, but we kept trying to urge everyone not to count their chickens,” Robinson said on Setanta.
“In the end we got there, but this Blue Square Premier is a tough league. Credit must go to Nigel Clough who started all this 10 years ago, today is for him, for Roy and for the fans.”