Vice-captain Megan Chandler led Watford Women out at Stadium MK, collected the trophy with skipper Helen Ward at the end and said she felt very little doubt in between.

The 29-year-old defender donned the captain’s armband once again and was a pivotal figure in restricting Nottingham Forest to very few chances in the Championship Promotion Play-Off victory at Stadium MK.

Indeed, Watford have kept seven clean sheets in their last 11 games, and Chandler said she felt promotion was in the bag once Poppy Wilson had headed home what turned out to be the only goal of the game.

“It felt to me like we never took our foot off the gas and they never threatened us so badly to the point where you felt they were about to score,” she said.

“If I’m being critical I think we made a nervy start with a couple of loose passes, but once we got the goal we settled right into the game.

“We soaked up their pressure when they were on the attack, and I thought they struggled to handle us when we went on the attack.”

When they did come under any pressure, Watford didn’t divert from the passing style they have now become renowned for.

“From the moment Damon and the team came in, getting the ball down and playing football has been the game plan,” Chandler said.

“For us to change at any point, particularly the last game of the season, would have been silly.

“The way we play is what we are good at.”

The two best chances Forest carved out came in the first half, and on both occasions keeper Jacqui Goldsmid made superb blocks.

“Jacqui has been fantastic since she’s come into the team, she’s had a really great back end of the season,” said Chandler.

“You know that when you’ve got a good keeper, you back her fully – I knew full well that she was going to save both those chances.”

The former Charlton and Crystal Palace player paid tribute to the 2,000 Watford fans who travelled to Milton Keynes.

“People say about your fans being the extra player, and honestly I don’t think we could have been as calm and composed as we were today without them,” she said.

“We heard them all game long, the chanting and the cheering.

“Whenever we needed a little bit extra during the game it was almost like they sensed it, and they’d turn the volume up.

“They have backed us so much and been fantastic all season long. This is every bit as much for them as it is for us.”

Chandler is Mum to two young children, and said it would be a very happy household.

“It’s amazing. They are going to be living their best life. It’s lovely for me to be able to bring home a winner’s medal for them.

“And today puts to bed the relegation of last season too. We’re on the up. Onto the next challenge, back where we belong in the Championship.”