GEORGE Thomason couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he contemplated the celebrations back home in Bolton.

The young midfielder, who has been this season’s breakout star at the UniBol, hoped Wanderers supporters were enjoying promotion just as much as the players were out on the pitch at Crawley.

At just 20 years old, Thomason started the season on loan in the Northern Premier League with Bamber Bridge – but finished it as a key component in the Bolton midfield, replacing the injured Kieran Lee in one of the club’s biggest games in recent history.

“I can imagine the fans are loving it back in Bolton,” he said. “And so they should because the club has been through turmoil, especially the last couple of years.

“This season, and I know it’s been said throughout, but we really have connected as a group back to the community and back to the fans.

“I hope they’ve bought into what we’re doing because every single player at this football club loves playing for this football club.

“You can see the celebrations today and I’m just glad that they’re enjoying it as much as we are because they deserve it as much as we do.”

Thomason finished up making 25 appearances for Bolton, scoring his first senior goal at Carlisle United in December.

Asked if the youngster could have dreamed he would finish up securing promotion on the pitch at Crawley, he said: “Hindsight is a great thing because realistically probably not, no.

“But as I said last time, every time I’ve the honour to play for this club, I know the players and the manager and they just allow me to play my best football.

“The lads around me are just so great at making me play so I think without them, I don’t think I would be able to play as well as I have but it’s been a collective effort. To top it off with promotion is just a great feeling.”

Wanderers saved their most impressive performance for last, dominating Crawley from start to finish in front of the Sky TV cameras.

“We knew what we needed to do today and I thought every single one of us was professional,” Thomason said. “I think we played the conditions well, the win, the pitch, I thought we played some really good football at times.

“We knew we had to focus on ourselves. We knew how big the game was, not just for us but for the fans because we know football has been a mental getaway for many people this year and I think today we’ve managed to put a lot of smiles on a lot of different people’s faces.

“A 4-1 win away from home in the last game of the season to secure promotion over what has been a crazy season has just been a great feeling.”