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Stevenage manager Steve Evans said there will be "some great days" next season after his side won promotion to League One.

The Boro beat Grimsby 2-0 in front of a sellout crowd at home to secure their place in the third tier next season for the first time in 10 years.

Evans was appointed in March 2022, with the club in a relegation battle.

He kept them up, with the club going on to spend the whole of this campaign in the race for automatic promotion.

"It's been absolutely fantastic," Evans told ����ý Three Counties Radio.

"Since I walked into the football club this town was pretty down in terms of watching this team, because it was a consistent battle to stay in the Football League.

"When I got appointed there was something of belief, the chairman said 'I'm appointing you so there's belief' and all season he's been by my side supporting me, that's for him.

"This is really about the people of Stevenage now."

'Giants of football on their way'

Stevenage spent three seasons in League One from 2011 but were relegated at the end of the 2013-14 season.

They have since come close to dropping out of the EFL altogether, only avoiding a fall to the National League because of Bury's expulsion and Macclesfield's financial problems.

"We're going up to a league where we're going to see some giants of football clubs coming here," Evans added.

"But they've waited for this for a lot of years, they'll have some great days next year I'm sure."

The former Gillingham, Mansfield and Leeds manager said he was sent a variety of best wishes messages prior to kick-off, from the likes of West Ham boss David Moyes and former Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers.

Saturday's promotion was Evans' seventh as a manager, having previously gone up with the likes of Boston United, Crawley Town and Rotherham United.

"This is the latest one [promotion] so it's the best one" he added.