Liam Chilvers will savour promotion with Port Vale after scoring his second goal in a week to help Port Vale clinch promotion to League One albeit a 28 goal swing next week.

The 31-year-old central defender wants to soak up the atmosphere as much as possible over the coming weeks.

“As a youngster you don't really appreciate it, I got promoted with Colchester when I was 23 or 24, I just think it is one of those things,” said Chilvers. 

“You have near-misses through your career and to do it again at 31 is just brilliant.

“I think I will enjoy it a lot more this time.”

A crowd of over 12,000 packed the park on Saturday as the players came out to guns of flames and a deafening roar. 

Chilvers said: “Coming down the tunnel was just brilliant hearing the fans.

“I hadn't heard it like that before, it was just fantastic.

“They really got behind us, with what has happened with the club and the lads over this season it has been fantastic.”

This seasons success will be dubbed administration to celebration after the clubs difficult start to the campaign off the field. With three players signed before the start of pre-season Chilvers admits that the players have experienced every emotion.

He said: “The lads have had the highs and lows of everything.

“Yesterday me and Chris Neal were in the High Street in Burslem and a man stopped us and said we had given them something to be proud of for the first time in 20 years, that was a nice thing for him to say to us.

“We've only had good wishes and we've pulled it off today.”

Despite three draws in a row Vale will be promoted officially next week when there superior goal difference comes into play if they do not get three points at Wycombe. Chilvers believes it was just about staying ahead of their rivals.

“We had the patch were we couldn't buy a win at one point but we knew if we stuck at it we would come though.

“Obviously we have had a lot of draws recently but we had that cushion of a few points and we managed to stay ahead of the pack.

“That's football and it happens over a season, at the end of the day we have done what we set out to do, it's been a good season,” said Chilvers.