'Pressure is a privilege' - Kevin Wilkin's belief on AFC Telford demands

The Bucks delivered a day to remember in Saturday's Southern Premier Central 4-2 play-off final success away to Kettering, where they twice roared back to clinch promotion in the closing stages.

It was success and a return to National League North at step two of the non-league system for boss Wilkin and his troops at the second time of asking following a home play-off final defeat 12 months earlier.

That day almost 5,000 fans saw the Bucks go down to Leamington. A crowd of 3,200 watched the tight semi-final victory over Halesowen Town last Wednesday and while the allocation for Kettering was limited to just 600 travelling fans, another 1,000 fans enjoyed a screening of the final on a big screen at the club's SEAH Stadium home.

Telford have been billed as one of step three's big-hitters due to their history, facilities and following. Wilkin admitted the scale of the club is not lost on him and his staff and the message is regularly relayed to players, some of who can find it tough.

"You're always aware that it is there and does weigh heavy on some players at times, when things aren't going your way. There is a real expectation," Wilkin said of a taste of the club's huge support.

"But we've not stopped talking about that, it's about understanding it and helping each other through that expectation.

"We know what's expected of us wherever we go and whenever we take to the field for a game we are expected to win.

"We have lots of great things at the club. The surface is the best in the league, the stadium is the best in the league, I think our support is the best in the league. I know one or two might disagree but I feel they've been right behind us and kept lifting us during crucial times."

Monday's fightback sealed the club's first promotion in 11 years after what has undoubtedly been a tough decade for the Bucks.

Immediate relegation back to National League North followed in 2014/15 and Telford failed to get close to mounting another tilt at promotion by the time relegation in 2022/23 came about. Wilkin, the former Nuneaton, Wrexham and Brackley boss, was appointed in October that season but could not prevent the drop.

The Bucks' average league gate this season was 1,343, just shy of Kettering at the top of that count. Halesowen were the only other club to average more than 1,000.

"What comes with that is an expectation," added Wilkin, whose family enjoyed the Latimer Park comeback euphoria from the stands. "You may call it pressure, I don't.

"As all the top sides say, pressure is a privilege and that's how we have to look at it. You don't want to be under the pump, but you want to know there is that desire to do well and there is always that hunger to fight.

"All of the those Bucks up there are passionate and want us to do well and hopefully they feel rewarded with the result and the promotion we've achieved."