"It wasn't spectacular, it wasn't vintage but I don't really care."

As the final whistle blew at Wembley it began the party for Charlton Athletic fans as the club were promoted to the Championship after five years in League One.

Macaulay Gillesphey's first-half free-kick had secured a 1-0 victory for the Addicks in a tense game with few standout moments.

Charlton boss Nathan Jones described it as "categorically the biggest" moment of his career, both in coaching and as a player, in front of more than 76,000 fans at the national stadium.

In 15 months at the Valley the former Luton Town and Stoke City boss has taken the club from near the bottom of the table to their most joyful moment since their last promotion from League One, six years ago.

The 51-year-old dropped down two leagues to take the job after suffering the ignominy of becoming Southampton's shortest-serving boss in the Premier League era, lasting just 95 days in the role.

"A young Welshman maybe wasn't big enough for Southampton but I'm big enough for Charlton," he said.

"I didn't drop to League One to be a League One manager, I went to League One to manage Charlton."

Next season he will be back at St Mary's with his reputation bolstered by his third promotion as a head coach, following two with the Hatters, while the Saints rebuild after their nightmare year in the top flight.

Having been 12th at Christmas, the Addicks went on a remarkable run of 16 wins in 25 matches and just three defeats in 2025.

Their goal has not been breached across 270 minutes of football against Wycombe Wanderers and Leyton Orient in the play-offs, making it 26 clean sheets in all competitions for the season.

"The form we've been in since Christmas time has been top two, we've grinded results out when we've had to and luckily we've been able to get in this position and take our chance," goalkeeper Will Mannion told BBC Radio London.

"We were under the cosh a little bit in that second half, they were throwing everything at it to try and get that equaliser.

"That's [clean sheet] one of the biggest reasons why we're here, we're absolutely delighted."

Jones talked of the sacrifice it has taken to get the club to this point, spending nights at the training ground and missing seeing his family.

That his daughter walked out with him under the arch as Charlton's mascot was a particularly proud moment for him.

"We do it for moments like this," he added.