Jose Mourinho could not have done a better job of keeping Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship this season, according to Owls manager Brian Laws.
Laws has been forced to deal with more hardship than most managers in English football this season and is now looking forward to a well-earned break in the sun after watching his side overcome early jitters to secure a must-win 4-1 success over Norwich on the final day.
Laws, visibly relieved after his side eventually came good in front of a sell-out 36,208 Hillsborough crowd, said: "Under the circumstances, and I'm not patting myself on the back, but if Mourinho was here I don't think he could have done any better.
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"That's the truth. We've had everything thrown at us and yet everybody has stayed calm and very focused. We could have thrown the towel in weeks ago but we didn't.
"That shows the camp is united and certainly the glue to it all is certainly the support we have had.
"The fans have been magnificent and would have been forgiven for turning on us all, the players, manager, because the results haven't matched their drive."
The Owls have been decimated by injuries to key players this season, while boardroom disquiet - chairman Dave Allen and long-serving director Keith Addy both departed - and never-ending takeover speculation have done little to steady a lurching ship.
Two goals from Deon Burton, one a penalty after referee Mark Clattenburg's dubious decision, and one each for Ben Sahar and Leon Clarke gave this nerve-jangling encounter a lop-sided scoreline after Darren Huckerby's superb opener gave the Canaries a flying start.
Laws said: "Gordon Bennett I'm glad that's over! This week feels like a month, waiting for the game to come about, knowing we were going to have a sell-out.
"The nerves, particularly in the first half, were there for all to see. We had young players out there and they looked very nervy and were panicking on the ball."
Laws, who revealed he had dreamed his side would concede an early goal before hitting back the night before, insists his squad is capable of mounting a promotion challenge next season.
He added: "We're going to learn a lot from this year. We've had to put up with a lot, on the field and off it, you name it, it's been thrown at us and we've had hurdle after hurdle to climb and we've got over every one.
"We've come out the other end. We've got a good squad of players here, if everybody's fit, and if we can add one or two to bolster that I believe we will have a much, much better year next year."
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