Pilgrims' Choice Is To Wave Goodbye To York Street In Style

If you think the pressure couldn’t ever be greater than to win a Promotion Final, have a chat with Craig Elliott.

Click here to find out how to watch Saturday's Promotion Final between Boston United and Altrincham.

He is only one game away from returning Boston United to their highest place in the Pyramid since 2007, writes Tom Scott.

If the temperature wasn’t high enough, the Pilgrims can make history by giving their historic York Street home the fitting farewell it deserves - even if the fans can’t be there to say goodbye themselves.

Boston face Altrincham in Saturday’s promotion shoot-out at the grand old ground they have played in for 87 years.

Their state-of-the-art new home is really coming along but manager Elliott knows anything but the perfect send off will be extra hard to accept.

“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves in pre-season with it being our last season at York Street,” he told us ahead of the match.

“We spoke a lot about creating memories and moments that people won’t ever forget. We did that in the FA Cup against Rochdale, but fate has had it that our last game, with a chance to win promotion to the National League, is at York Street.

“We couldn’t have written the script any better to be honest, it’s incredible.

“It’s one of the biggest games we’ve had in over a decade and it’s at York Street so it’s amazing.

“I’ve said it all along, we feel very lucky to be playing in these games. The competition has done itself proud in getting these games on. Financially, it has put a burden on clubs but simply the amount of work that has gone into the preparation to get these games on, everyone in the National League deserves credit for what they’ve done.

“It's an exciting period. We’re moving into the new stadium next season, it’s a great time to be at this club.”

He has been studying while getting the team to within a game of promotion, too.

“I’ve been learning about the history of the club and what’s happened in the past – good and bad,” he said.

“People forget how big this club is. Until you’re here and see the fans, not just the numbers but the passion they have, you realise.

“The fans are incredible at this club, the sooner we get them back in the stadium the better. There’s the potential here to take the club a lot further.

The new stadium is good enough for the Football League and with the fanbase here, we’ve got the ability to push up another couple of leagues at least, and that is the aim.”

Full feature interview available in the National League North Promotion Final matchday programme.

Where next?

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