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“Firstly, I’m overwhelmed by the messages of support I have received on social media over the past few days. I have read and appreciated every single one.
“I feel honoured and privileged to have guided York City back into the EFL, where they rightly belong after 10 years of heartache for the supporters.
“Joao and I couldn’t have achieved any of this success without our dedicated and hard-working management team: Steve, Gary, Olly, Dan, Diego, Sam, Lewis and Kev. Their commitment and belief was incredible.
“Without this special group of players, none of what we achieved would have been possible. Their never-give-up attitude saw us scoring late winners and equalisers. This is what we all saw in the last game of the season. With the chaos happening around us after Rochdale had scored, the skipper calmly told me, ‘We have one more chance, gaffer', and the rest is history. I am proud of you all for the hard work you put into every training session and game.
“There are also so many unsung heroes who were part of last season’s success: Ed, Ryan, Pete, Wayne, Kevin and so many others, working tirelessly behind the scenes. Adam, Tom and Matthew captured the season’s highs and lows through their photography.
“Our wonderful club secretary, Lisa, also played such a key part in the success of our season, keeping everything organised and running smoothly behind the scenes so we could focus solely on the football.
“Thank you to Julie-Anne and Matt for giving me the opportunity to be the manager of this great club.
“To the fans – thank you for welcoming me into your club and your city. For supporting the management team, for travelling up and down the country supporting the players and supporting your club. I’ll never forget how you always got behind the team, even when the results weren’t going our way. So many memories made, and many club records broken together.
“The last game of the season is one I will probably never experience again as a manager, and to have experienced it with you all will last me a lifetime. The strong bond we built between management, players and you, the supporters, felt like one big family, and we were all in it together on the journey back to the EFL. You are the heartbeat of the club, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart."
Stuart Maynard
