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"It is a tremendous feeling. There was a lot of pressure about the place, but there was a confident mood in the dressing room and in the lead up to the game.
"The players have been tremendous since we came in and the credit goes to them. A lot of credit goes to Paul Wilkinson and Graham Rodger, who have worked ever so hard since we took over.
"Michael Boulding was fantastic and he has been all season. We were staring Division Two in the face, but the players have been magnificent. It was important that we got the right result today and I'm sure we'll have a few drinks tonight!"
Stan wasn't happy with the first half performance in particular when we just meekly surrendered against a very average Grimsby side.
"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb in the first half and we didn't perform at all by our standards. In the second half we did much better, but it was too late by then. Whether they were sitting back or we played better, in the second half we had enough chances, but it was a very poor show in the first half and the game was lost then really.
"I wanted to try and score some goals and get back in the game because goal difference is important and we won the second half 1-0. We'll have to win next Saturday and keep our fingers crossed, but we never do it the easy way. It will go to the wire, as I've said all along. It's extremely disappointing today though.
"The fans were absolutely fantastic today and they always are, but I don't take it for granted."
I assume that Stan means the fans are always fantastic except on those occasions when he chooses to criticise them.
Mariners reach safe haven
By Robert Smith at Blundell Park (Sunday Telegraph)
GRIMSBY secured their First Division status with an emphatic victory over promotion hopefuls Burnley at Blundell Park, effectively tying up the game in the first half with three impressive goals.
Influential striker Michael Boulding struck twice from the edge of the penalty area, and strike partner Bradley Allen weighed in with a close-range goal. Former Sheffield Wednesday defender Lee Briscoe scored for Burnley in the last minute.
After a quiet opening, Grimsby stunned Stan Ternent's high-flying side by taking a fifth-minute lead. Boulding, who scored a superb hat-trick against Wimbledon a couple of weeks ago, collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and drilled home a low shot.
The quicksilver forward almost doubled the advantage 60 seconds later but his 18-yard shot went narrowly wide. However, the Mariners continued to dominate the game and added a second in the 12th minute. The influential Boulding produced a perfect cross from the right and Allen fired home a close-range effort.
Burnley, sixth in the table, looked shell-shocked as Grimsby piled forward at every opportunity.
After defender Danny Butterfield had been fouled by the tough-tackling midfielder Kevin Ball, Terry Cooke curled a dangerous 25-yard free kick just over the crossbar.
The Clarets launched a counter-attack in the 30th minute, but Steve Davis could only direct Glen Little's cross straight at Danny Coyne.
Grimsby capped a brilliant first half when Boulding ran on to a pass from Cooke and fired home from 18 yards in the 43rd minute.
In the second half, former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne tried to lift his Burnley team-mates with a fierce shot which flew over the bar. But the visitors' only success was Briscoe's 18-yard strike.
Buoyant Grimsby sail to safety
Ron Clarke at Blundell Park (Sunday Times)
SUSPENSE, what suspense? It was never supposed to be this easy as a bubbly Blundell Park witnessed Grimsby Town secure survival with consummate ease. They swept aside opponents with serious play-off ambitions and with results for other relegation rivals going their way, it all adds up to another season in Division One for the Mariners.
Any suspense is now left to Burnley who face a nail-biting finale next weekend to see if promotion is still a possibility when they host Coventry City.
After this comprehensive defeat, Burnley manager Stan Ternent said: "It will be a long week. We will go away and regroup. The best we can do now is 75 points and we will see if that is enough. It will be a crying shame if we do not make the playoffs and give ourselves a second chance."
They will have to improve on this, after Grimsby set about their survival mission with almost indecent haste by scoring twice inside the first 12 minutes.
The pace of Michael Boulding was the catalyst for both. First, he cut in from the left flank to unleash a powerful drive past a despairing Nik Michopoulos in the Burnley goal. Then, switching to the other flank, he raced away to slide the ball across the six-yard line. Danny Butterfield completely miscued his attempted shot but was fortunate to have Bradley Allen alongside him, and he demonstrated how it should be done by calmly prodding the ball into the net.
Moments earlier, Boulding could have scored again only to be let down by his first touch which allowed Michopoulos to take the ball.
The early double-whammy left the visitors all at sea and their only shot on target throughout the first period was a tame effort from Ian Moore straight into the arms of Danny Coyne.
Seconds before the interval, the contest was concluded with Terry Cooke finding Boulding wide on the right and again he cut inside to easily go round the hopelessly out-of-position Burnley goalkeeper.
The second half was really only a celebratory knock-about in the sun as Grimsby went into cruise control.
Even the introduction of Paul Gascoigne at the restart did little to lift the deflated visitors. Once again he was only a pale imitation of his glory days and had just a couple of free-kicks, which both sailed over the bar, as any meaningful contribution.
The set pieces were met with derisory chants of "There is only one David Beckham".
His colleagues nearly gained a consolation goal midway through the second period, only for Moore's header to be spectacularly tipped over by Coyne. They did eventually get an undeserved break through in injury time when Lee Briscoe made the most of a defensive mix up to stumble the ball across the line.
Grimsby's player-manager Paul Groves said: "Today we were just a little bit too good for Burnley, but they are a good side and I am sure they will still be a force in the play offs."