PETER JACKSON is determined to leave one item behind when he jets off on holiday next week - his mobile phone.
It has never stopped ringing since Town's glorious promotion to the Second Division in last Monday's unforgettable play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.
While Jackson has been overwhelmed by the response and is still consumed by wonderful memories of the Cardiff occasion, he is also exhausted after 11 months of hard graft featuring very few (if any!) days off.
"I am absolutely drained and ready for a holiday, but it's a wonderful feeling as well when I can reflect on what we've achieved," said Jackson, hoisting his designer shoes onto the desk where plans for 54 matches have been mapped out.
"I don't think anyone who was at the final will ever forget it, and I know I certainly won't because it was my proudest day in football and one of the proudest of my life.
"The atmosphere, the tension, the drama and then the emotion were there for everyone to experience and it was just an unbelievable day.
"I think everyone saw what it meant to me when I ran on the pitch.
"I got the rose ripped off my suit thanks to Anthony Lloyd jumping on me, but everyone was jumping on each other and hugging and smiling. It was great.
"A really special moment for me was on the podium. I wasn't due to go and collect the trophy, but with Sodje missing, Andy Booth just signalled for me to go across and we timed it perfectly with lifting it up.
"We just counted to three and then wow, the noise and the fireworks. It was a magical time.
"I still managed to get a little moment to myself down in the changing rooms. I got back there while the lads were still out on the pitch and I just sat down with the trophy, shattered and feeling happy as hell.
"It wasn't long before the lads arrived, the champers started being sprayed about and the celebrations got fully under way.
"The looks of sheer relief on the lads' faces is something I'll never forget and to think how they'd been so distraught down at Cheltenham: last Monday made up for all of that. It was wonderful."
No-one calmed down on the way home.
"There were incredible scenes as we passed groups of fans with horns blowing and flags flying," he said.
"At one stage I was hanging out of the window with the trophy in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other and I just couldn't get the smile off my face.
"We had thought of staying down in Cardiff but I'm glad we didn't. It was the right thing to bring everyone home."
Jackson's first call on Tuesday morning was to vanquished manager Keith Curle.
The first he received was from Leroy Rosenior, manager of Torquay, the team who pipped Town to automatic promotion on goal difference after collecting the same 81 points.
Letters of congratulation have been received from Accrington Stanley, who knocked Town out of the FA Cup and from clubs like Nottingham Forest, Luton, Cheltenham, Blackpool, Yeovil and Middlesbrough.
More have been arriving by the day, including one from Giants coach Jon Sharp.
Jackson himself and his family - wife Alison, daughter Charlotte and son Oliver - have been greeted warmly wherever they've gone.
"My kids couldn't watch the penalties, they were just hugging each other, and Alison was in tears at the end," he said.
"The people close to me knew how much the game meant to me and they were just delighted we won because they've seen everything that's gone into it.
"For me, there are lots of special memories.
"The reception I got on my return for the first match of the season, the football we've played and the goals that we've scored.
"Macclesfield away, the turning point, and the disappointment of Cheltenham are are also prominent, but since Christmas it's all been pretty much a high.
"It has been a wonderful achievement by the players to take us up.
"Before the Cambridge game last August, I would probably have been happy to finish in the top 10, but to do what we've done is just magnificent."
Jackson has already had talks about extending his contract beyond next season and he has no plans to add to the McAlpine squad until after his well-earned break.
"It's important that we all enjoy what has happened and take a little rest to chill out," he added.
"When we get back, we can all look forward to what is going to be a really wonderful season for this football club and I know how keen the players are to do well once again.
"They really do deserve tremendous credit, because people have been writing us off all the way through.
"People have doubted us, particularly since we missed out on automatic promotion, but the criticism just made us more determined than ever. They were saying we didn't have the bottle to go up - well I think we've proved them all wrong."
