“A sea of blue shirts” greeted defender Janoi Donacien at Christchurch Park when he and the rest of the squad arrived at this afternoon’s promotion celebration.
Donacien is one of the few survivors of the short-lived Paul Hurst era, along with forward Kayden Jackson, and the Blues’ 2018/19 relegation from the Championship.
The 29-year-old has had a Town career in which he has been a regular starter, then sent back on loan to former club Accrington, then back in the side, then out on loan to Fleetwood, before becoming a key man under Kieran McKenna on the right side of the defence.
"Me and Kayden have been here for a long time,” the St Lucia-born defender reflected. "Does it make it all the sweeter? Yes, it definitely does. Ups and downs but we’re really up right now, so we’re going to enjoy it.
"Coming together with this team, we’ve had a great year, so I’m very, very proud of the boys, very proud of the staff and everyone here.
"In the past there’s been some really good players, but never with the depth of quality. You look around the changing room, the boys that aren’t playing, the boys that are playing, there’s just quality everywhere and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Looking back on the season from a personal perspective, Donacien added: "Incredible. Just enjoyed the ride, enjoyed the journey, as you try and do in football. It’s been a great, great season for the boys.”
The one-time Tottenham and Aston Villa trainee says he didn’t know what to expect from today’s celebrations, which were attended by almost 11,000 fans.
"On the way in I wasn’t too sure what I was going to see,” he admitted. "But then it seemed like a sea of blue shirts, it was incredible to see all the fans come out. They come out to all the games and it’s great.”
Donacien, who won League Two with Accrington prior to his move to the Blues, says he’s never seen celebrations like those at Town over the last 10 days.
"No, nothing like this at all,” he said. "I’ve never seen any other teams do it like this. I saw Man City’s one, but it didn’t look as good as this for sure.”
Looking ahead to next season and the Blues’ prospects in the second tier, he added: "I think our style suits playing in the Championship. We’re capable of having a very good season next year.”