"It’s definitely a burden off our shoulders" - Luke Rowe on his journey from relegation to promotion with AFC Telford

The Bucks captain rejoined the club in February and did not lose any of his 13 games back in black and white.

And after being part of the 2022/23 side that suffered a humiliating relegation out of step two, Rowe admitted a relief at being part of the side that brought the good times back to Shropshire.

“For the likes of myself, Jordan (Piggott) and Byron (Moore) it’s definitely a burden off our shoulders, because it’s never nice to have a relegation on your CV with any club,” he began. “To now know we’ve got the same club promoted again is a weight off our shoulders, and it makes it even sweeter doing it the way we’ve done it.”

He added: “I obviously had a little spell away in between, but for Jordan and Byron to be here the whole time and achieve it as well as all the staff is a special achievement, and more than anything a relief.

“Telford is a massive club and it’s still a sleeping giant, so hopefully we can awaken it by getting promoted and bringing more people back into the fanbase.

“We want everyone to enjoy the National League North, because last time we weren’t playing the best football and didn’t have the best team.

“The whole club was toxic, and I remember things like a player’s car being trashed, so now hopefully we’ve done things in the right way and managed to get some fans back in.

“A lot of credit goes back to the gaffer because I’m sure there have been plenty of times where he could have folded and thrown the towel in, but he’s come out and carried on what he was doing even when he was under scrutiny.

“We deserve to do well next season back at that level and I’m sure we will.

And Rowe insisted that his own personal journey during his 18-month spell away from New Bucks Head helped develop him as a player, he has been able to showcase far more in the current environment at the club than he was two years ago.

“The biggest difference at the club is the kind of people we have now,” he explained. “At Telford now everyone is so easy to get on with and there are no bad characters who put you down like there maybe was in the past.”

The midfielder added: “For myself I’ve been on the journey that I’ve been on, and I came back more experienced having played so many games in step three, and to be honest I’m just so grateful to get out of it.

“I think it was time that I got out of it, I was aware of every ground that we went to, every team that we played, and I knew that any team could beat anyone on any given day.

“It’s such a difficult league and I don’t think people totally understand that, especially as there are teams in there with much bigger budgets than Telford.

“Telford in terms of budget would never be expected to win that league, that would only come because of the size of the fanbase and the club as a whole away from money.

“I definitely came back to the club with more experience, but leadership wise I think I’ve always had it anyway.

“It’s a case of the people that are at the club now allowing me to be a better person, and hopefully a better player.”