By Matt Cecil

---

Wanderers boss Peter Taylor lavished praise on his players after they clinched promotion to League One on Saturday and says the achievement is the perfect reward for their efforts throughout the campaign.

The Blues celebrated their success at Adams Park despite a 2-1 defeat to Notts County, with Bury's inability to overturn a three-goal swing in goal difference proving decisive in a thrilling finale, and Taylor was delighted to seal a place in the top three:

"I'm very, very proud of the players and they can feel very proud of themselves for the effort that they've put in," he told wwfc.com. "It's fantastic for the club that we're going to be in League One next season.

"If you ever win promotion you can be sure that a lot of hard work has gone into it, but the reward is always worth it."

This promotion is Taylor's fifth as a manager, equalling Neil Warnock's record in the Football League, and the 56-year-old said he is thrilled to be the man to guide the club into the division above:

"You want to be successful and to reach five promotions feels brilliant. I'm so pleased for the players, supporters and directors, and if it means that it's my fifth promotion then I'm delighted with that."

The match itself was not typical of the Wanderers' form throughout the season, with the Blues conceding two disappointing goals to County's John Thompson, but Taylor highlighted the importance of the club's consistently strong performances over the last nine months:

"Today was not enjoyable but the games before today have been outstanding. We had a poor run in January but it's a tough league and other teams have done exceptionally well. No-one has got a divine right to finish in the top three and you just need to get as many points as you can."

And the former England coach was delighted to be able to give the club's supporters the perfect finale to the season with a promotion party at Adams Park after the sell-out crowd had generated a superb atmosphere throughout the game:

"The support has got stronger and stronger and they've tried to be noisier with every game we've played. I'm really pleased with the amount of support we've had and it's nice for any supporter to celebrate promotion on the last day of the season."

Coming soon: A bumper photo gallery of the promotion celebrations, more reaction from the Blues squad and a review of tonight's End of Season Awards Dinner.