Rovers' Return Is Promotion King Big Mac's Number One

Except a few minutes into the 2018 National League Promotion Final, that is. He’s best ignored - you can comfortably discount all the grumbles, and the choice language, coming out of his mouth.

If it was possible to get a grip of big Steve McNulty’s shaven hair, he would have been tearing it out on the Wembley pitch a matter of seconds after the start of Tranmere Rovers’ day of destiny part two.

After the disaster of attempt number one a year before, blowing it against Boreham Wood after being feckless against Forest Green Rovers just wasn’t an option.

They needed to start well on their second chance, full guns blazing and flexing their sizeable Merseyside muscle from the word go.

Then Rovers defender Liam Ridehalgh lost control, and took leave of his senses.

A red card after 48 seconds threw it all up in the grey, north west London air. As it lashed down at a sodden Wembley Stadium, it felt like it never rained but it poured on Tranmere Rovers.

“I thought that was it, I remember saying we’d blown again - done,” McNulty told us in our latest flashback to the Promotion Finals of years gone by.

“I honestly thought it was gone already. You can’t play a man down for 89 minutes on that pitch. If we were going to do it with ten it would be penalties - two hours away.

“People forget that Boreham Wood played us off the park a few months before, they battered us and only won 2-1.

“But when they went down to ten men they went long to try and take advantage. When we played them at their place they passed it around us so well. They played into our hands by not sticking to that.”

Rovers returned to the EFL after three years away, triumphing 2-1 against all odds.

They took the lead when Andy Cook headed James Norwood's fine cross but Bruno Andrade side-footed home to equalise. Norwood headed home with ten minutes to go to get the party started and end the club’s exile.

McNulty has cast doubt on if Tranmere could have done it had it not been for their bitter trip to the capital 12 months earlier.

The feeble 3-1 defeat to Forest Green, as error-strewn as it was ugly in May 2017, acted as rocket fuel for the Rovers players.

“A lot of us who experienced that day walked out at Wembley a year on,” said the rugged central defender, a National League legend for all he had achieved in the game.

“I can’t speak for everyone but personally? It was the worst day of my career.

“Without what we went through, that long, long and silent journey home, it could have been really different.

“We said at half-time (against Boreham Wood) that we could not leave here defeated again. We meant every word - there was no way it was happening again.

“We were done with heartbreak, we had to dig in. We deserved it, we reacted to the early sending off, even if I thought at the time the card came out that it was us done!

“The longer they game when on, the more I fancied us. The trip home was a little bit better this time - the party actually went on for three days!”

McNulty, now 36, is waiting to hear what happens next - and if he will be able to add an incredible seventh promotion to a CV bursting with accolades.

York City, top of the National League North when play stopped back in mid-March, thinks the team improved with every week as they tracked down King’s Lynn Town.

When quizzed on exactly how many promotions he had won, the centre-back joked: “To be honest, you stop counting at five!

“No, every promotion is special - I’ve been lucky enough to achieve something at Barrow, Fleetwood, Tranmere and Luton.

“You always start every season wanting to go up and hoping you can. I’ve enjoyed it at York, it’s a new experience but it’s a massive club with fantastic fans.

“With a bit of luck I can add another promotion to the list when the dust settles.”

Tranmere got to Wembley after twice coming from behind during the first 90 minutes against Ebbsfleet United 4-2.

Boreham Wood did it the hard way, first beating AFC Fylde 2-1 before days later going to Sutton United to win a dramatic play-off semi-final 3-2.