“He probably won’t ever have played a better game. Everything he did was perfect, his hold-up play, his running the channels, his physical game, he won his headers, scored as well. He just had the game of his life, absolute game of his life. He was brilliant, he was absolutely brilliant.

“Marcus’s movement for the third goal was superb, a great ball in from Jamie Clapham. Jim’s ball for’s Mogga’s header, Wrighty saving a penalty. There were lots of big moments in the game.”

At 3-1 the game appeared to be all but settled but as the Blues began to tire, Barnsley came back into it and with 12 minutes remaining they were awarded a second penalty.

“I think it was Mogga who stuck a leg out,” Holland recalled. “He’d played well Craig Hignett, he took the penalty and once he’d spotted the ball I fancied him to score, and he did.

“And then it does make it a bit nervous. I think we did get nervous as well at that point. They had a good chance too, a header from Georgi Hristov and Wrighty made the save.

“They were throwing everything at it, but left themselves short at the back and the rest is history.”

That moment of history was sub Martijn Reuser’s fourth goal in the final minute which sealed the Blues’ return to the top flight after five seasons away.

I just remember him running through thinking ‘Please, just please hit the back of the net!’,” Holland said.

“I’m just thinking ‘Just score! Please just score!’. I can see him racing away and I’m thinking ‘Just put this in please and then it’s done. If we score now it’s all over’.

“And sure enough he did and the commentary when you watch it back ‘Reuser, Premiership!’ and all that, it’s just goosebumps time.

“He was so composed in front of goal, he was one those that at that stage you want to be in that position, somebody with a cool head and I fancied him to score.

“For the first time you could relax really, your shoulders go down and you think ‘Thank God for that’.”

Holland says after so many years of trying - he had played in the two previous years’ play-off campaigns - there was a feeling of relief as much as celebration at the final whistle.

“I think sometimes fans don’t think players necessarily feel the emotions. I can tell you I had every emotion,” he said. “That day I can just remember being up and down like a yo-yo.

“It is the same for the players, it is an emotional rollercoaster. The thing I would say is that when you’re on the pitch you can do something to affect it. You can still change the game.

“I used to hate watching games when I wasn’t playing because you’re kicking and heading every ball. But when you’re on the pitch you can do something to affect it.

“But it really was an emotional rollercoaster throughout the game, as much for the players as it was for the fans.”

Holland then made the traditional walk up Wembley’s famous 39 steps to collect the trophy, fulfilling a boyhood dream.

“I did dream about it, I dreamt about an FA Cup final probably rather than a play-off final when I was about six or seven.,” he said.

“Dreams come true at that moment. Any time when you’ve won, there’s a lot of lactic acid, a lot of nervous energy on the day and I think there were a lot of tired legs, but it’s amazing, even Johnno, he’d been injured, but he was on the pitch and running around, he found some energy from somewhere.

“It was one of those where you just found energy to get up those steps and enjoy it. It was something I’d dreamed of, a really good moment.

“I remember hugging David Sheepshanks, we’d done it, all those years of heartbreak. Football’s full of highs and lows and I think as a player you generally have more lows than you have highs. You definitely have more lows than you have highs and you’ve got to enjoy those moments and that was one of the good days.”

And holding up the trophy was one of those highs: “I can see it, I can feel it and talking about it gives me goosebumps, to be honest. Just looking across and seeing the fans, lifting the trophy, the noise when you throw it in their direction, that real roar and then I think we passed it down the line as well. A great feeling.”

The celebrations continued on the pitch, familiar territory for the skipper, whose applauding of the Town support was part of his regular post-match routine.

“That was my usual thing anyway, clapping the fans, so that wasn’t particularly new but we were on the pitch a little bit longer than I’d normally be. It was my little thing anyway,” he said.

“The celebrations on the pitch, celebrations in the dressing room and I can’t remember how long it was after the game before we left.

Photo: Action Images

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