PLAYERS from the victorious Spennymoor Town FC side have brought the FA Vase trophy home to the North-east.

But as the celebrations continue, the team's manager has warned he will not let victory at Wembley distract his players from the challenges ahead.

The Northern League players partied into the early hours of the morning following their 2-1 win over Tunbridge Wells in the FA Carlsberg Vase final on Saturday.

Joined by friends and family, the players toasted their success and posed for pictures in front of the prestigious trophy on the rooftop terrace of the Hilton Hotel in Wembley.

When they arrived back at the club’s ground, The Brewery Field at Wood Vue, today (Sunday May 5), the mood remained jubilant, with plenty of banter and jokes about being back to reality.

Manager Jason Ainsley, who has been involved with Spennymoor Town FC for 25 years, described the Wembley experience as one of the best weeks of his life.

“Last night was fantastic,” he said. “I think I was one of the early ones who went to bed at around midnight.

“Others stayed up celebrating until 4am and rightly so.

"They deserve to have fun after such a brilliant performance.”

And the celebrations do not stop there.

Tomorrow (Monday, May 6) Spennymoor Town Council has arranged for a civic reception and open top bus tour to allow residents to congratulate the Wembley heroes.

Mr Ainsely said the team was looking forward to greeting supporters.

“We are all excited,” he said. “We had 5,000 people cheering us on at the match and the photos we have seen of people celebrating are tremendous.

“It has put Spennymoor on the map.”

However, despite the festivities, Mr Ainsely remains focused on the team's upcoming games – the first of which is against Shildon at 11am tomorrow (Monday).

“We have the match against Shildon and then two more cup finals this week,” he said.

“It doesn’t give us much time to gather our thoughts, but the team is in excellent spirits and are eager to get back on the pitch.”

The bus tour begins at 2.15pm when the players will board a 1959 Bristol Lodekka open top classic coach at The Brewery Field.

They will then travel along Durham Road and through Tudhoe, before heading to Kirk Merrington, Binchester and Byers Green.

The team will return to Spennymoor along Grayson Road and Clyde Terrace, arriving at Spennymoor Town Hall at 3.15pm for a celebratory dinner and civic reception.