Derby County defender Sonny Bradley says confirming promotion to the Sky Bet Championship on the final day of the 2023/24 season in front of a packed-out Pride Park Stadium made the achievement feel all the more special.
The Rams sealed their return back to the second tier with a 2-0 victory over Carlisle United last Saturday and although it was routine in the end for Paul Warne's side on the day, Bradley admits he always had a feeling their promotion fate would come down to the final 90 minutes of the campaign.
Bradley sat down with RamsTV following the conclusion of the season earlier this week and spoke about achieving the goal he set out when joining the Rams last summer, reflected on his own personal campaign and more.
On how it feels to have accomplished his goal of getting Derby County back to the Championship...
I'm delighted. If I'm honest, did things go the way I thought they were going to go when I signed? No. But does it matter now? Absolutely not. We've got the job done. I spoke about wanting to win a league title, but Portsmouth won the league this year and ultimately they were just better than everyone else. We're in a position now where we're a Championship football club, though. That was our goal, we got the job done.
On how he thought things were going to go...
I wouldn't say it was necessarily just performances because I felt like, as a team, the performances weren't great at the start of the season. If you put in there some individual mistakes at the start of the season and underperforming a bit on a personal level, it makes things ten times worse. I've stuck in there. I haven't missed a day of training since I've been here and even when I've come on off the bench, I feel like I've done a job and helped the team. It's all about the end goal, it's all about the team and right now we're promoted and in a really good place.
On whether experience proved vital in the final stages of the season...
No disrespect to anyone in the league, because I think there are some really good teams and they've all got their own styles, but ultimately what matters is in both boxes. That's more important than anything else. In both boxes, for and against, we're the best. We've got the most experience and in the end I think that has made the difference.
On a particular turning point he can pick out for the side...
There were performances throughout the season where you come away thinking: 'we are a proper team'. I always had the feeling that it was going to go down to the last game. People talk about the lack of quality in the league this season, but I disagree. I think between the top six, seven or eight teams, on any given day, any of those teams can beat each other. We're fortunate that we've got that experience and it has got us over the line. It was always going to go to the last day but what a way to do it, to do it at Pride Park in front of our fans was special.
On enjoying the summer rest and celebrations in the coming weeks...
We've got a team trip away coming up and we're certainly going to enjoy it. That's what it's about as well. We spend a lot of time together but we aren't a team that necessarily go out and socialise a lot together. I'm stating the obvious a bit, but the priority was getting the football club up and by doing that, between us, we've sacrificed the social side a little bit. We've saved a few tokens for this off-season! Throughout the team we've been professional all season, got the job done and now it's time to unwind and celebrate a little.
