Notts County manager Kevin Nolan admitted his side appeared to get 'caught up in the occasion' against Portsmouth this afternoon.
The Magpies were beaten 3-1 by Pompey at Meadow Lane as the south coast club secured promotion to League One in front of 4,366 of their vociferous supporters.
And, while he congratulated the visitors on their achievement, Nolan was disappointed with how his own players handled the game.
Nolan said: "First and foremost, I'm delighted for Paul Cook and Leam Richardson. They’ve achieved what they set out for this year and we wish them all the best going forward.
"I thought we gifted Portsmouth the game today and I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t manage it as well as we have done in the past. I think we maybe got caught up in the occasion, but it’s a good learning curve for us.
"We’ll bottle these memories and hopefully next year we’ll have days like this."
Nolan, who revealed Michael O'Connor will have a scan tomorrow after being stretchered off in the first half, took the opportunity to reflect on the progress made by the side in recent months.
He said: "These boys have been fantastic from the moment I walked through the door. We’re going to have our off days.
"Portsmouth are top of the league for a reason - they’ve been there all season.
"We’ve come a long way and we’ve got to keep believing in what we’re doing - and we will."
Everyone at Notts County would like to congratulate Portsmouth on their promotion.