That promotion party still sends shivers down my spine. I think about it every day... it meant everything

CARL DICKINSON knows all about playing for Stoke City under a huge weight of expectation – and coming through the other side.

In fact, even though it’s 10 years ago, he thinks about it every day.

Today, Stoke are fighting for their Premier League lives against Burnley. And if any of Paul Lambert’s players are unsure what the top flight means to the Potteries, read on.

Back in 2008, Stoke fans were waiting on tenterhooks to see if Tony Pulis’s side could end a 23-year exile from England’s top division.

The trainee Dickinson, then 21, had come through the ranks to take his place in the side. Only Leicester City stood between them and a spot in the Premier League.

After a nervous 90 minutes, referee Mike Dean blew his whistle on a goalless draw that would help send Leicester down – and set off a raucous Potters promotion party.

According to former Stoke defender Dickinson, today is the most important game the Potters have played since.

Dickinson said: “It was difficult to put that feeling into words – I still think about it every single day.

“You can’t describe something like that, but it was made all the better because before the season no one had predicted we would be anywhere near it – and there we were.

Joyous

“The referee blew the final whistle and I just saw my team-mate Richard Cresswell drop to his knees and put his head in his hands. Then he was swallowed up by the crowd.

“It was just a joyous chaos. I managed to get to the dressing-room, but others had no chance. Shirts, shorts, socks, boots, they were all ripped off.

“It meant everything to me. It still does because I lost my dad, Paul, that season... so being promoted was just an overwhelming feeling.

“It still sends a shiver down my spine.”

Dickinson, aiming for promotion to League One with Notts County now, says today could be the Potters’ last throw of the dice if they are to have any hope of escaping the drop.

Dickinson said: “Make no mistake, the Britannia crowd will be well up for this. Premier League football has been massive for Stoke.

“Big away crowds come, and these people are all visiting the city, spending money, and the profile has been raised. I think if Stoke are relegated, it will hit the city as hard as it does the football club.”

But Dickinson, who still lives in the Potteries, says that pulling clear of the drop zone now is going to be a tall order.

He said: “My heart is desperate for them to stay up – but my head says it will take a miracle.

“I’m struggling to see where the goals are coming from.

“The crowd will make it as intimidating as possible for Burnley – and the players have discovered their tenacity and are working hard.”

Dickinson added: “I desperately hope that I’m proved wrong – but I just think it might all be too little, too late.”