He said "My side is very young – nearly all of them in their early 20s. I think we will be here again next season or go up automatically – if we can keep the side together". As a result of their victory, Plymouth Argyle returned to the third tier of English football just one year after being relegated to the fourth tier for the first time in its history. They returned to the Third Division two years later before being promoted as champions in 2002, and the club followed that up by winning the Second Division in 2004, to reclaim their place in the second tier of English football after a twelve-year hiatus. For Darlington, there was to be more disappointment in the play-offs four years later under David Hodgson, Platt's successor. They reached the Third Division final in 2000, the last to be played at the original Wembley Stadium, and were defeated 1–0 again; on this occasion to Peterborough United.