At last! After six years of battling through the Blackburn Combination we finally managed to achieve promotion to the Premier League.

Since starting out on the Saturday football trail it has always been the club's ambition to test itself in the highest league. What with extra television money, bigger gates and the chance to qualify for Europe some exciting times should lie ahead (Note to self: wrong Premier League stupid).

Despite securing promotion, the celebrations were muted as the ultimate aim this season was to secure the title. With five points needed from four matches, this is by no means a foregone conclusion especially with fixtures against teams who traditionally make life difficult against us. Couple that with a game against our nearest challengers, Alex Hotel Reserves, and the champagne delivery can stay on hold.

Elsewhere in the Combination, close finishes are assured in the other divisions with Ewood Amateurs and King's Inn battling away for the title in the Premier Division and Blue Star, Akzo Nobel Reserves and Grimshaw Park attempting to secure the Third Division.

And finally . . . sources in Rishton have informed me that police are insisting on the return of a rattle, some teddy bears and a dummy to the pram of a local high profile match official.

The victim, recently seen in this newspaper gazing longingly at Rovers' Ben Burgess (very strange for one of the St Mary's College Clarets), is said to be distraught at the criticism he and his fellow match officials have received at the hands of Messrs Hanson, Fraser and Black.

Reduced to quoting sarcasm of Biblical proportions, the victim is clearly of the "Referee's are always right" and "In case of an error please see the previous statement" mentality, so perhaps the time has come to return the offending items before the pram goes flying too. Boom Boom.