Sunday 29 May 2016 19:41, UK
Paul Heckingbottom has said he wants to stay as Barnsley manager on a permanent basis after their play-off final victory.
The Tykes beat Millwall 3-1 at Wembley to secure their place back in the second tier, with goals from Ashley Fletcher, Adam Hammill and Lloyd Isgrove sealing the victory.
The Lions replied through childhood Barnsley fan Mark Beevers, but Heckingbottom's men were able to see out the game to round off a stunning turnaround this season.
As Barnsley now prepare for life back in the Championship, attention will also turn to the future of Heckingbotham, the former Tyke who has only been in caretaker charge since Lee Johnson departed for Bristol City in February.
"Me and the players are exactly the same, we have players whose futures are undecided and we're asking them to put that to one side because we have bigger things to focus on so I did exactly the same. I've told the club we'll speak after the games and now we can," Heckingbottom told Sky Sports.
"Everyone in this stadium knows I'm a Barnsley fan and a Barnsley lad so people have stopped asking me because it's too obvious."
Heckingbottom was full of praise for his team and the fans as the Yorkshire club added a second Wembley win to their name after their Johnstone's Paint Trophy victory 56 days ago in which Hammill and Fletcher also scored.
"Right now, I feel proud, excited and really buzzing for the players and fans," the caretaker boss told Sky Sports.
"The best bit about everything I've been doing is when I see the players celebrating with the fans like this, I think that's been the biggest kick I've had so far.
"I've been walking around to every single one of them and said 'Championship player' because we haven't been hiding from it, we wanted to put it in their minds because that's what they are playing for.
"This is bigger than the JPT, we know that. The players know that, everyone at the club knows that, the supporters know that so you'll see tonight that the party and everything that comes with it will be that much bigger and better."
The caretaker boss also commented on the contribution of Manchester United loanee Fletcher, and believes he could have been the new starlet in place of Marcus Rashford if events had played out differently.
"I don't know the pecking order there, but if he wasn't here he could have been making his debut instead of Rashford," he told a post-match press conference.
"I think he will get better and better. United will have seen his progression and they'll know he has the attributes to get better."
