Finn Harps manager Ollie Horgan says hard work and a "rub of the green" were crucial to his side staying up on the final night of the Airtricity League season.
Adam Foley's 27th-minute goal gave the Donegal club a 1-0 victory against Waterford at Finn Park as they finished just a point above second-from-bottom Shelbourne.
It was a third win in four games for Horgan's side and he told Joe Molloy on tonight's Off The Ball that it was nerve racking right up to the final whistle on Monday night.
"It went right to the wire and anyway watching it, in the 95th minute, Waterford hit the post and that could have put us into the playoff and turned it on its head completely.
"It wasn't any tactical genius from myself or Paul Hegarty, absolutely not! It was just continually trying to work hard and to give credit to the players, it was tough for them physically and mentally but they showed a huge amount of togetherness.
"When things weren't going especially well they stuck at it and they got their just reward last night. We've been there before, I remember we went eight games without a win a few years back when we stayed up in the Premier Division.
"When you're down that end of the table, as we normally are, it's tough going. We're hoping the experience of last night will stand to our players, whether they stay or if they move on.
"It's no bed of roses down there, I don't know what it's like at the other end of the table, I know what it's like at the top of the First Division and it's certainly an easier place to be when the results are going your way but we wouldn't swap it for any other way, being in the top division in whatever place."
"It wasn't any tactical genius...the players showed great togetherness"
Finn Harps boss Ollie Horgan on staying up in the Airtricity League Premier Division on the final night of the season pic.twitter.com/U3ZLJHe7ia
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) November 10, 2020
Ground was broken at the site of Finn Harp's proposed new stadium at Stranorlar back in 2008 but the works haven't significantly progressed since 2014.
Horgan says the completion of the 6,000 seater stadium would help the move the club to the next level.
"The committee have worked their backsides off to get this to go again and go again and they're doing that again. It's a shame on the basis that we're in the Premier Division for at least another 12 months and it's a shame that we don't have a facility to go with it.
"The amount of work that was done by volunteers to get the pitch ready for last night, since the Shamrock Rovers game last Sunday week where there was torrential rain, it was a credit to them.
"It's not a carpet by any means, we all know that, but there's only so much you can do when that much rain falls and the River Finn is at the back of the pitch and it overflows.
"They came in that night and several nights afterwards to get the pitch into half decent shape for the Waterford game, they deserve a huge amount of credit because they knew they weren't even going to be able to get to the game.
"I just hope the new stadium will get over the line before our time is done."
