Nailsea & Tickenham chairman Rob Gregory said his side’s “fairytale” promotion to the Toolstation Western League Premier Division is the “best achievement” of his football career, writes Joshua Thomas.

The Swags beat Bishops Lydeard 4-1 last Thursday to finish the season in second place in their first year in Division One, two more than Wells City to secure promotion for the second consecutive season after winning last year’s Uhlsport County Premier Division.

Eight players of the starting 11 played in last season’s winning team, with two others playing at Somerset County level last season.

The victory saw Nailsea & Tickenham continue to make history by becoming the first team from Nailsea to reach step six last year and now step five of English football.

And Gregory says he is filled with pride by his what his team have achieved.

“(I am) very proud, very, very proud,” he said.

“We knew that it was going to be a very tough season but consistency has seen us right though to the end. There’s nobody that can disrepute that we deserved what we got.

“For the community, for the club, for the players, for all the people that have come and supported us this year I am a very proud man.”

Nailsea & Tickenham came into their final game of the campaign at Fryth Way knowing a win would be enough to seal second place and promotion.

However, Brislington, the league champions, were not allowed to go up after choosing to take voluntary demotion from the Premier last season, meaning the side in second place would advance and teams in third to sixth would stage the play-offs.

Ahead of the match the Swags were on the same number of points with Wells City with 95, but earned promotion in style through Joe Berry’s double, Callum Dunn and Sam Beresford to end the campaign with 98 points and secure promotion.

And with Wells only managing a 1-1 draw at Cheddar, the celebrations could well and truly get underway.

“This is the best achievement in my whole football career, being part of a club that’s achieved what we have achieved in such a short space of time as well” Gregory added.

“It is a fairytale, but the great thing is that every single player in this club, every single person in this club has worked towards this.

“Whether it is somebody in the kitchen, somebody who is marking the pitch, somebody who is working the bar and then all the players and the great thing is there is a tremendous togetherness now in the club.”