Warnock says one of his most memorable play-off triumphs came with Plymouth Argyle in 1996 as they won promotion from what is now League Two.
“I enjoyed Plymouth because it was the first time the Green Army had been to Wembley and they were always really supportive – I remember people queuing for tickets and the talk around the town,” he says.
But that victory was far from simple for the Pilgrims, who ended the season one point and one place off automatic promotion.
They lost the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 at Colchester United, before winning 3-1 at Home Park in a memorable return game that also saw him sent from the dugout – and into the stands with the Argyle fans – after a chat with the referee.
“I remember Adrian Littlejohn was going through on goal and they pulled him down, and the lad (Mark Kinsella) should have got sent off. He didn’t, and then the same lad went and scored another goal and you feel hard done to,” Warnock says.
“The referee came and sent me off and then apologised at the end of the game because he got it wrong – all those little things you remember.
“There’s so many emotions. At Plymouth in the second leg Paul Williams scored late on – I’d never even seen him in the opponents’ box until then.”
Argyle went on to beat Darlington 1-0 in the final thanks to a second-half Ronnie Mauge goal – one that Warnock is still proud of to this day.
“The pleasing thing about Plymouth was that it was a set-piece that we worked on in training,” he recalls.
“Mark Patterson and somebody else made a late run in the box to allow Ronnie Mauge to be free and score a great header.
“When you do score with a set-piece, from a manager’s point of view, it’s really pleasing.”
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