Valley's automatic promotion is well-deserved, says boss Adams

Despite finishing runners-up in the final table, Town escaped the dreaded play-offs thanks to their points-per-game ratio which saw them claim one of three extra automatic places in the higher level created by clubs there that failed to meet ground grading requirements.

It was the narrowest of margins of success, however, with Valley’s third place in the national rankings secured by only 0.02 of a point over Hellenic League side Malvern - meaning their campaign-concluding victory in the rescheduled fixture at MK Irish proved to be vital.

Reacting to the news of promotion, Town boss Carl Adams said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we have finally done what we set out to achieve.

“This club needs Step 4 football and the fans here deserve it too for the way they have supported us.

“It's been a real roller coaster affair – especially in the last few months.

“And I’m not sure I could have coped with the stress of a play-off match, so it’s great to get it done without having to go through that!”

Despite losing just three league games all season, Rugby finished three points behind champions Coventry Sphinx and therefore were set to face a sudden-death knockout game against a bottom-four club from the level above until the FA news filtered through.

“Whilst we got a bit of luck at the end, I truly believe that we deserved that for what we did across the season as a whole,” Adams added.

“We were unbeaten away from home throughout and also matched a long-standing club record with 13 straight wins in the middle of the campaign.

“Yes it was disappointing to miss out on the title, but there were two good teams going at each other, and hats off to Sphinx for what they achieved - especially the way they ended with a great run of victories of their own.”

Valley and Sphinx are likely to be allocated to the Northern Premier League Midlands for 2023/24 where they could join a number of other clubs recently-promoted from the UCL in Shepshed Dynamo, Hinckley Leicester Road, Harborough Town, Gresley Rovers, Anstey Nomads and Quorn, as well as other familiar foes from years past like Bedworth United, Corby Town and Sutton Coldfield Town.

Allocations for next season are expected to be announced over the coming weeks, with Adams confirming that he is looking to keep as many as possible of this season’s squad for the new challenge, while also looking to strengthen with a number of newcomers.