Humour abounded: ‘What the fuck was it doing at Middlesbrough,’ we asked.

     ‘Here’s what you could have won,’ we shouted. Comments about Karanka ranged through the whole spectrum of lewdity, vulgarity and ribaldry. Good manners fly out the window at celebrations like this when there is fun to be had, champers to quaff and hair to be let down.

     Joey Baron tweeted: ‘Trophy should have been there (at Charlton). We earned it, 46 games, 23 undefeated and lifting blow-up and cardboard trophies.’

     Truth is, the early days of the season were hardly indicative of the season to come; but then along came Gray and Barton, two inspired signings that took the team up a level.

     Long queues of guests lined up to have their picture taken with the old trophy or Sean Dyche and the players. This was an evening to remember at the end of a season to remember; three promotions in seven seasons, the first via the play-offs, the second as runners-up, and now this one as champions each one different in its own way.

     The first under Owen Coyle was like watching a series of dramatic Cup-ties once Burnley had inched their way into the top six. The second was an unexpected fairytale season filled with delightful football and flair; the third was the result of hard work, organisation, dependability and the ability to grind out solid results when needed. But it was this last promotion that had the unbeaten run of 23 games, the division’s top scorer, and the fair play trophy. And for good measure Burnley were the division’s joint top scorers. No team won more games; no team lost less.

     Ben Mee was the Players Player of the Season; a couple of years ago he was presented with a crash helmet in honour of his headed clearance while lying on the floor in one game. Joey Barton was the Supporters Player of the Season. ‘I’d run through brick walls for these lads,’ he said of his team-mates. He listed how much he had enjoyed this stunning season, the best dressing room, the best bunch of lads, the best captain and of course, laughing, he reminded us that he had once called Burnley a sh*thole. His comments about Middlesbrough and the trophy being up there remain unprintable. And would he have been on the bus parade around the town if they had only come second, he was asked. ‘Would I fuck.’ But we all suspect he would.

     There was a new award, ‘Memorable Moment of the Season.’ For me it was the equaliser against Middlesbrough, although you could also have said the final whistle against QPR when we knew promotion was safe. The award was in memory of Ian Britton and his memorable moment against Orient all those years ago. It went to Michael Keane for his equaliser down at Brighton.

     And Michael Duff: a special award to him to mark his retirement. After the 3-0 defeat at Hull City it was Duffo who made way in the defensive re-shuffle and lost his place.

     ‘The boss rested me’, he explained, adding with a wry smile in that understated quiet way of his, ‘and since then they’ve gone 23 games undefeated.’ It brought the house down. But how delighted we all were to hear him announce that he had accepted a coaching post at the club. It was what we all hoped, loyalty deserves loyalty.

     There was no award for the catering department but perhaps there should have been. Chairman Mike Garlick proudly told us that a record 90,000 pies had been sold through the season of which 75,000 were meat and potato. And I didn’t have one of them.

     If seasons have turning points or key moments; then it was the defeat at Hull that was one of them. It was a defeat that according to George Boyd sparked a no-holds barred inquest and meeting at the training ground.

   ‘That game against Hull, we were way off it, absolutely nowhere near where we should have been. It wasn’t good enough and we all knew it. We held a team meeting after the game and everybody got what they wanted to say off their chest. A few home truths were told and it was tough to take but I look back at it now and think it was the turning point of the season. The upshot was that we needed to get back to basics; start getting in people’s faces and as long as we did that the quality would shine through. We all agreed that our only aim was to win the title. It obviously worked. We’ve played some great stuff at times but since that meeting we’ve also found a way of winning when we weren’t playing well. We just ground it out. I’ve been in promoted sides before and there’s always that feeling you’ll win every game. Since Boxing Day, everyone here has felt like that.

     ‘If you look at our regular starting line-up, I think Michael Keane was the only one who hadn’t won a promotion. I doubt anyone could match our experience in that sense; that’s why keeping the side together was vital. We all had that experience of winning and we’d also competed week in, week out in the Premier League. We lost a few players like Jason Shackell and Danny Ings but the gaffer bought really well. Andre Gray has been a massive part of our success this year and Joey Barton’s come in and done brilliantly. I looked at our side one day and thought, yeah, we’ll do this.’

     And do it they did, with mention of the prolific Andre Gray more than significant. None of his goals won the Goal of the Season award at the dinner but plenty were good enough. It was his misfortune that Scott Arfield’s winning 20-yard goal was against Blackburn Rovers. That it was against Blackburn doubled its value. In truth his best goal of the season was another 20-yarder away at Brentford reminiscent of the Wade Elliott winner at Wembley in 2009. But a 20-yarder against Blackburn, the only goal of the game, the goal that wins the game, will always be a wonder-goal.

     ‘We’re not little any more,’ someone said up on the podium and that’s true enough in financial terms with all the Premier League money to come that will elevate the club up into the top 40 richest in the world. You can’t be little if you have attained Premier status three times in seven years. Burnley remains a small place but the club for at least one season will be bigger than the town as its image spreads round the globe again in the media and on TV screens. What it might have to do now, however, is think just that little bit bigger if it wants to attract players that will enhance the current squad and equip the club for a firm campaign to avoid relegation. It was so unlucky after the last Premier season to be demoted; there were so many games when they played so well and deserved to win.

     Sean Dyche said that Burnley’s run was unbelievable. They were fifth after the defeat at Hull. ‘We were heavily questioned around the Christmas period but I said that we were fine, moulding, looking like a good team, looking like where I think it can go. It’s 50-odd points in those unbeaten games and the standard is two points a game – unbelievable.   I say it all the time, 46 league games, it’s hard to be brilliant every week. It’s a very difficult thing. You’ve got 11 others out there trying to stop you from doing that, so you have to find a way to win.’

     Joey Barton said being a part of the squad had been a privilege. ‘Relieved to get over the line was the first emotion… I was fortunate enough to be part of a squad that won it at Newcastle and I got a promotion via the play-offs. But while it’s a fantastic way to go up, it’s not being champions. It’s not being the best team in the league and I think since that defeat at Hull we’ve been that. We’ve been resolute, disciplined and it’s been a real collective effort. There’s been individuals; Vokesey, Andre, Boydy and Scotty. There are lads who have an abundance of appearances and others that don’t, but their attitude in training, the way they handle the disappointment of not being in the starting XL, it’s a real collective effort and an absolute privilege to be part of. There’s no better way than to go into the summer than being 23 games unbeaten, the Championship trophy, you go down in history. There are some illustrious names that have held it aloft. That was my focus when I walked into this football club.’

     George Boyd looked at the club establishing itself in the Premier League this time. ‘If we’d stayed up last time the club would have grown and we’d have stayed in for years. With the training ground coming along and the money in the Premier League it’s a great chance to establish ourselves. The squad has stayed together for most of the two years I’ve been here. That solidity has been great and long may it continue. You’ve got to savour these moments, they don’t come around too often but they get better every time.’

     David Jones thought it a bonus on the penultimate day when Brighton dropped points. ‘We just focused on our job which is what we wanted to do and we managed to see it through. This promotion is better than two years ago. There’s been a lot more expectation and I think the standard has got better. Middlesbrough and Brighton have been constant, relentless, kind of like us but we’ve managed to see it through. To be able to stay unbeaten for 23 games; you’d think on a run like that you’d have done it a couple of weeks ago. ‘

     For Andre Gray is has been a roller-coaster of a journey. ‘It’s crazy. Two years ago I was celebrating promotion from the Conference and now I’m going in to the Premier League. If somebody had told me that in two years I’d be at Burnley getting promoted automatically I wouldn’t have believed it. Playing in front of 60,000 most weeks is going to be unreal. That’s what I’ve dreamt of and I’ve finally got the chance to do it. All my friends and family have been here, they were there two years ago when I got promoted at Luton, so for them to be here and watch me rise the way I have from non-league to Premier League is incredible for me.’

   Chairman Mike Garlick said: ‘It’s been a long, hard grind; we’ve fought and battled as a team and a unit, as one the whole way. We’ve got some good players but there are a lot of other clubs with good players but as a team I don’t think anyone comes close to us. You have to enjoy it; these moments don’t come along every year although we’d like more of them. But the reality is you have to enjoy it when it happens. I was really pleased we could do it, clinch it, at home. We didn’t care how we did it ultimately and if it had been at Charlton then so be it but to clinch promotion in front of the home fans was great. They all loved it. It means so much to them. It means so much to the town. These are cliché words and they’ve been said a hundred times before but they’re true. It’s the cathedral of the town that means so much to all of them. Sean Dyche’s whole ethos is built round team spirit and working as one. If we don’t get that then it doesn’t work. He doesn’t mean just on the pitch, he means off as well. They’re good lads, they’re sensible; they put the team first, that’s in their interests too as individuals. There are no prima donnas, everyone understands it; we keep it simple and get the job done. The team, spirit, the unity, the comradery, not just on the pitch but throughout the club, the fans, the board, and the management, everyone connected with the club has the same vision and belief.’

     On the Monday night of the presentation of the team to the fans at the Town Hall the crowd scenes were astonishing. A setting sun and a clear blue sky, the claret shirts, banners and flags made it a photographer’s paradise. How many thousands were there; nobody really knew but Manchester Road was thronged all the way along, the pavements were lined with spectators waiting for the team bus to inch its way along through the town to Turf Moor, and behind it the crowds followed, thousands of them joyously singing the new anthem:

23 23 undefeated

23 23 I say

23 23 undefeated

Playing football the Sean Dyche Way