“I remember being on the bench chatting to Johnno, I don’t know what we were saying, ‘Come on, let’s get through this last 10 minutes’ maybe. I was more nervous when I was on the bench watching if I’m being honest, than I would have been out there.”

Finally the whistle confirmed Town’s 4-2 victory and a return to the Premier League after five years away and four seasons in the play-offs.

“I just remember photographs and everyone hugging,” Stewart continued. “I think I gave my shorts to a Barnsley fan at some point.

“Because you’ve had four years of hurt as a team, no one at the club knows what do, apart from just hug everyone!

“You go and collect your trophy and all that sort of stuff. It was a strange feeling. Looking back I think it’s nice to reflect on it now more so than at the time because I think as the days or years go by, decades go by, you reflect more and appreciate what type of time that was. That moment was one of the best times of my career, there’s no doubt about that.”

It was an unsurprisingly jubilant but also a relieved and reflective Stewart who joined his team-mates for the journey back to Suffolk.

“I just remember being on the coach, at the back of the coach, specifically being around David Johnson and Scowy just at the back of the bus, just chatting and drinking, just celebrating really,” he said.

“I remember everyone being really happy and people floating up and down the bus, everyone’s suits being kind of dishevelled, ties all over the place and a feeling almost of relief, that’s what I remember. Happiness, relief and no pressure.

“You know when you get in from work sometimes and you just take your tie off and you slump on the settee because you’ve had a tough day? That’s exactly what it was like on the bus.

“I remember going down to the front of the bus for about half an hour, just sitting down there on my own next to the driver.

“I used to do that quite a lot as a player. I’d finish a game and I didn’t want to be around people all the time. I often wanted just to be down the front of the bus on my own, gathering my thoughts. I remember doing that, having a beer down the front for half an hour.

“That’s how I remember all the crowds on the bridges on the A12, they were waving as we were going along the dual carriageway, I remember that because I was sat at the front of the bus. Great times.

“Everyone sees it differently, that was my way of looking at it and my way of reflecting on what we’d just achieved.”

Stewart says it was a team which trained the way it played: “I remember training sessions being very tense, I think that was good because everyone trained really hard and everyone would put pressure on each other during training.

“If training wasn’t right there would be arguments amongst people. I think that prepared you the best for a game because you did it in training anyway.

“When it came to games, Jim was a fiery character, he wasn’t nasty, he did it because he wanted to win, that’s how I look at it. He didn’t do it because he wanted to bully someone or make someone feel not good enough within the team, he did it because he wanted to win a game and I get that 100 per cent.

“And I think that stood us in good stead when we went into games. We put ourselves under pressure during training.

“It’s hard for a lot of players to put themselves in that mode, you want to try and win in every training session you go into, you want to win every run you do, you want to win everything you do, which then becomes a good habit when it comes to the games. I don’t think it’s a switch you can turn on and off.”

Stewart recently left his role as assistant manager of Walsall to spend more time at home, although he’s not ruling out a return to football at some point.

“I just wanted a bit of time with my family,” he said. “I’ve been in football since I was 17, I’m now 47, so 30 years and I’ve always put family second. That’s how it’s always been and now it’s time to put them first for however long.

“It was a lot of commuting, five hours out of my life a day more or less commuting every other day from Bristol to Walsall, so it’s time to gather my thoughts and talk to family members and friends, time to put in a bit of effort and reconnect with my family.”

Of course, the Wembley victory was to prove the first step on a remarkable Premier League adventure the following season in which Stewart netted 19 times as the Blues finished fifth and reached the UEFA Cup.

Looking back on how that February move from Huddersfield ultimately worked out, he said: “Did I know it was the right decision at the time? No, I didn’t. But looking back it was. It couldn’t have gone any better.

“It was one of the happiest periods of my career, for lots of reasons, the place it was, for football and for the team-mates that I had, they were a great bunch of team-mates.

“When you make those decisions and you’ve probably got a day to think about it, you’re talking to people who you trust and you’re thinking ‘Is it right? Is it wrong?’ and it was the right thing to do at the time and looking back it is now. No regrets whatsoever.”

Photo: Action Images

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 06:53 - May 14 I remember watching the first Bolton semi at a pub in Sweden. I was so disappointed as we went 2-0 down early on. But also remember the tremendous buzz when we equalised. I began to believe it was possible. The rest is history.
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SpiritOfJohn added 19:23 - May 14 Fabulous interview. Thanks Marcus and TWTD! Great excuse to watch the highlights DVD again. What a fantastic comeback, especially considering Mogga and Johnno both went off with injuries before Marcus scored the first of his two terrific goals.
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