SEAMUS Conneely is hoping to end the season on a high, after experiencing the highlight of his career.

The midfielder won the League of Ireland, FAI Cup and Setanta Cup in consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2014 - all with Sligo Rovers.

But the 29-year-old said nothing compared to the feeling he got when lifting the League Two trophy as Accrington Stanley captain last weekend.

“It was a great moment. I pictured it a few times in my mind this year,” said Conneely.

“It felt fantastic. It’s the culmination of a season’s hard work and the lads thoroughly deserved it.

“It’s a different feeling to promotion. Promotion was a relief. To finish the number one team in the league, with some very good teams in the league as well, is a fantastic feeling.

“When you look back on your career you look back at the things that you’ve won, and for a lot of the players they haven’t won medals before.

“I’ve won the League of Ireland and FAI Cup but this is the highlight of my career.”

Now, after the 1-0 win at home to Lincoln City secured the title and sparked more scenes of celebrations at the Wham Stadium last Saturday, Conneely and co are aiming to sign off from League Two in style at Swindon Town this weekend, and reinforce why they are the best team in the league.

Luton Town manager Nathan Jones, who pipped John Coleman to the last manager of the month award, last month claimed that the Hatters had been more consistent than Stanley over the course of the campaign, saying: “Accrington have done something wonderful. But over the season I’d struggle to find a better side than us in how we’ve played and how we’ve gone about our job.

“I’m biased because I’m proud of how we play, when I watch our games back they’re the most enjoyable games I watch.

“I watched over 200 League Two games this year, I watch five-a-week and ours are the most enjoyable ones to watch.”

In response, Conneely said: “I can understand where Nathan Jones is coming from - they have been a very good team. But the table doesn’t lie. We are the number one in the league this year.”

And Conneely said the confidence to go on a 15-game unbeaten run, with an incredible 18 wins from their last 21 league games, came from beating Luton at Kenilworth Road to usurp them at the top of the league.

“The goal all year was to get promoted,” Conneely continued.

“When we beat Luton that was a real confidence boost for the lads. We went to the top of the league and we thought ‘we’re going to stay here’.”

And Conneely credited the Stanley fans for the role they have played in the team’s success this season, with the title clinched in front of a club record crowd of 4,753.

“They have been great this year. The numbers have been growing as the season’s been going on,” he said. “Results have helped obviously but we’ve played a brand of football that’s pleasing on the eye as well.

“To see how much the fans have enjoyed this season just adds everything to it. They have been fantastic all year.”