JUST like manager Steve Bruce, Hull City captain Robert Koren can finally raise a glass to toast a third promotion to the Premier League.
After twice climbing out of the Championship with West Brom in the 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons, the Slovenian's hat-trick was completed in the most dramatic style possible at the weekend.
A captivating 2-2 draw with Cardiff was enough to confirm second spot ahead of Watford and propelled a jubilant City back into the top flight after three years away.
Success during Bruce's first season in charge has come against all the odds and Koren believes the Tigers' fairytale eclipses anything he has achieved in the English game.
"We worked hard all season so to manage it on the last day is just brilliant," Koren, 32, told the Mail.
"Through the whole season we have deserved to go up.
"It's a great feeling. For me it's the third promotion, but I think this is the best I have felt. The lads are really good and it's a great atmosphere in the dressing room.
"We were underdogs at the start of the season. Nobody put us in the top two so to finish in second place is brilliant.
"At West Brom people expected us to go up. That meant pressure but here we have deserved everything we have done."
For Koren it has been third time lucky with the Tigers.
After joining on a free transfer in the summer of 2010, he has been a focal point of the club's revival since relegation from the Premier League.
None were more vocal in their disappointment when a late capitulation saw City miss out on the Championship play-offs to finish eighth last season, but Koren's persistence eventually enabled him to hit the jackpot.
"This is my third season and it's been ups and downs," said the creative talisman, who has played 125 games in the last three years, more than any other City player in this Championship era.
"Last season was very disappointing to miss out at the end, not getting in the play-offs was very tough.
"But we started again with a new manager and a lot of new players, and it's a special feeling.
"Nobody would even think of us at the start of the season but we have been so strong. That's been the difference from before."
Although a calf injury condemned Koren to watch the compelling final day drama from the stands, his role in the Tigers' vintage campaign was key.
Nine goals in his 40 league appearances ensured he would top the club's goalscoring charts and the last of them, a late winner to sink Ipswich 2-1 at Portman Road on April 13, was perhaps as significant as any scored during Bruce's reign.
That pivotal strike opened up a six-point advantage in second spot and provided City with the breathing space they needed during a stuttering late run towards the finish line.
An injury suffered in the 1-0 loss at Wolves ruled Koren out of the final three games of the season and he admitted it was torture watching the final day unfold.
"I trained on Friday and almost came through the session but just at the end I did some damage to the muscle again," he said.
"Somehow it didn't work out. I pushed myself to the limit and I was really up for playing but it wasn't meant to be.
"It was much harder to watch than it was to play. When I play I am quite a calm person but watching these last three games from the stands was very nervous.
"I can cope with the pressure much better when I'm playing, I'm not used to watching.
"It was very hard to watch but it was worth it in the end because we are back in the Premier League."
A new contract signed last summer means Koren will be around for the next leg of City's journey, one that will tour the most famous footballing venues in the country from August.
However, it promises to be a campaign where the Tigers will again have to overcome the odds if they are to avoid an instant return to the Championship.
One bookmaker already has City as 4/6 favourites for relegation next season, but Koren has warned there will be further surprises from a side with room to develop.
"It's been a great season and through it we've shown the type of football we are able to play," he added.
"That shows the quality we have as a team. Of course, we are going to the Premier League where everybody is on the same level or better, so we need to make sure we keep improving.
"We will be the underdogs again, but we will do everything we can to prove people wrong and stay up."
