Watch play-off footage: Emotions go through the roof as Luton Town reach the Premier League

Numb. That's how I felt on May 2, 1992 when Luton Town played their last game in the top flight on a sunny day at Notts County's ground.

In the years previous we'd had a few last day escapes from relegation and I think many supporters perhaps naively believed we'd dodge yet another bullet and cling on by our fingernails once again.

But a 2-1 defeat meant we were down and our luck had run out - and it really had, as we missed out on the riches of the Premier League which were to kick in the following season.

Aged 19, I consoled myself with the belief that we'd soon bounce back as fellow Hatters poured out of Meadow Lane in tears.

Well, we have bounced back, but little did I realise it would take 31 years to do so, with more kicks in the teeth along the way than seemed fair by virtue of points deductions, relegations, a five-year stay in non league, and agonising near misses in the play-offs as we looked to climb back up the footballing pyramid.

In the past ten years, I've introduced my children (now 15 and 17) to the joys of following the Hatters and luckily for them they've only been old enough to witness the upward trajectory of the rollercoaster we’ve all experienced in recent decades.

I knew my son (then aged 9) was totally hooked on the Hatters in 2017 when following the painful defeat to Blackpool in the League 2 play-offs via a last-minute extra time own goal he was in floods of tears. On the way out of Kenilworth Road I vowed "don't worry, we'll come back stronger", not necessarily believing it myself, but wow did we, and then some!

And so onto May 2023 and more play-off drama. I felt sick in the stomach in the days leading up to the first leg at Sunderland knowing this might be the best opportunity we'd have in years to make it back to the top tier - and also knowing how desperate my children were to see the team play at Wembley.

A win over the two legs and I felt strangely relaxed about the Wembley climax to a thrilling season, which had all seemed rather unlikely when the three of us were sat cold and wet in the away end at Stoke in October for Nathan Jones' final match before his move to Southampton wjhich had ended in a rather limp 2-0 defeat.

But enter Rob Edwards who improved the football being served up. After a narrow defeat to Middlesborough in his first game, I must admit to being worried about the dotted line at the bottom end of the table rather than having thoughts about the top end.

I shouldn't have been so pessimistic. Three wins on the spin followed and suddenly all eyes were on the play-offs and a repeat of the previous year's remarkable achievement of making the end of season lottery.

After cheering the lads on to a win at promotion hopefuls Sheffield Utd - where we had kept the hosts at arms length for the entire match - belief was growing that we might even have a shot at the automatic promotion slots.

That wasn’t to be, but we made the play-offs with plenty to spare thanks to an excellent run of results – the highlight being the 2-0 home win against Watford at a bouncing Kenilworth Road (it’s that raucous atmosphere that gives us a real chance of upsetting the big boys come the new season).

And so onto Wembley, we started like a house on fire and midway through the first half we were ahead – could it really be our day? In truth the game could’ve been sewn up by half-time, but where’s the fun in that?

Coventry came back, equalised, and Town were wobbling. But the ship was steadied and we looked the more likely of two exhausted teams in extra time.

A goal chalked off by VAR after 117 minutes was cruel, meaning penalties – and knowing Luton’s luck over the years I feared another huge disappointment was incoming.

But someone up there had decided us poor Hatters had received more than our fair share of bad luck since 1992, and the scene was instead set for those wild celebrations – and this time it was my daughter’s turn to need fistfuls of tissues.

And so, 31 years after Notts County I felt numb again at the end of a game. But this numbness was in disbelief that we'd made it back to the top flight after all these years. Pinch yourself fellow Hatters, it really did happen.

One week on and I find myself still watching the countless videos posted online of the action, the celebrations, interviews – which transform me into a blubbering mess all over again!

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