Worksop Town captain Bencherif delighted with promotion

Captain Hamza Bencherif praised the group of players after Worksop Town was promoted to the National League North.

Speaking after the game, the centre-back said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable, I’m ecstatic in the way we’ve done it in the three years.

We’ve had the same group of players, and they all deserve it. They work so hard, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.

“They’ve been working together for a long time and there’s no secret in football, you’re humble, you work hard and even when you back’s against the wall, we bounce back so again I’m proud of them.”

Bencherif has faced adversity throughout this season, missing a number of games due to suspension.

The Algerian returned to the starting eleven in the play-off semi-final against Ashton United, after his red card against Stockton Town, and provided leadership at the back in both games.

The 37-year-old has now captained the club to two promotions, and the centre-back said it was a proud moment for him: “Through my career I’ve experienced a lot of different moments, but this is very special because we’ve been together outside of football.

“The supporters, the people around, I don’t think people understand how many good people we’ve got around the club.

“We’ve had a plan when we came in, and it’s not arrogance, we’ve always been open about what we expect as a football and the fact we’ve delivered again shows the character we’ve got.”

Bencherif went on to speak about the fans who played a big part in the Tigers' motivation to get promoted: “I think it we could have put 5000, we would have had 5000. It was a full house, and the noise from the supporters was excellent.

“Again, when I talk about the last few years, all the people, including the fans, because they give us that extra step, they give us extra motivation, especially in games like that where it’s not easy.

“So again, I just want to thank all of them, they deserve as much as we do and we want to share that celebrating and promotion with them.”

Bencherif will look to lift another trophy on Thursday as the Tigers travel to Hillsborough for the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup against Hallam FC.