Paddy Davitt King's Lynn boss Keith Webb basked in the title celebrations after delivering on his Conference pledge. Webb embraced assistant boss Lee Glover in the technical area at full time before being drenched by his delighted players and mobbed by Lynn's 500-strong travelling army.

Paddy Davitt

King's Lynn boss Keith Webb basked in the title celebrations after delivering on his Conference pledge.

Webb embraced assistant boss Lee Glover in the technical area at full time before being drenched by his delighted players and mobbed by Lynn's 500-strong travelling army.

An elated Webb proudly watched skipper Greg Crane lift the Southern League, Premier Division shield as the title party sparked into life.

“This probably won't sink in for a day or two what we've achieved,” said Webb. “It's hard to appreciate. When I first game to this club they wanted promotion and the chairman made it clear he wanted to get the club into Conference level football. Unfortunately we couldn't do it when I came in half way through last season but I'm delighted to achieve it in my first full season.

“To take the club into the conference set up is the biggest achievement of my footballing career. There's been a lot of heartache and hard work but this makes it all worthwhile. I'm a little bit emotional and with good reason. The boys have done magnificently to play under this sort of pressure. We didn't know the Team Bath result but I'm pleased that we actually ended up winning it by a couple of points and not just on goal difference.”

Webb saluted the collective effort that carried Lynn to within touching distance of the Blue Square Premier.

“A lot of credit goes to the board and the chairman,” he said. “They have backed me and Lee and given us the finance to get players in. That is not always the easiest thing because obviously you have to get the right type of player and make sure they have an impact on the team.

“This is a consequence of a lot hard work from a lot of people - many who don't get paid but work on behalf of this club. It's as much for them as the players. The fans were superb again. To get this level of support travelling the breadth of the country is fantastic. You look at some Championship clubs and they wouldn't get that. I'm just pleased we could do it for them to give everyone a good day.”

Webb was relieved to avoid the play-off lottery as vanquished championship rivals Team Bath attempt to pick themselves up to host Bashley in tomorrow night's semi-final.

“To put ourselves in a situation where we would have had to go again would've been tough,” admitted Webb. “Merthyr had plenty of good chances - probably better than us. Scott Howie has made some good saves and we've cleared two off the line. We've scuffed two goals basically and they're the ones that count. Pre-match it was hard because if you go in and start giving Churchill-type speeches you can tip the players over the edge. I wanted the dressing room relaxed but not too relaxed so that we didn't do ourselves justice.

“I never thought at any point the game was won although I would've if the penalty goes in. Ben Chapman wanted them before we went out when I asked, but Joe (Francis) was keen to redeem himself after last week.”

Webb believes his title-winning squad can take the Conference second tier by storm.

“I don't think there is much tweaking that needs to be done,” he said. “But we know the hard work starts now. It's not a case of sitting back. We want to make an impact at higher levels. I've got some cold, hard decisions to make for the good of the club - to take us forward. I want to let this sink in first though and savour the occasion, but it's only natural there will be some changes.

“That said, we've got players who can make an impact and we have that winning habit. There's going to be a lot of big clubs at the level we are going into but that's where we want to be. We'll enjoy the moment and then sit down to discuss where we go from here.”