Other Divisional winners were Millwall (second division), Crystal Palace (first division) and Leicester City (Premiership).

Programme editor Mark Johnson has confirmed that the price of next season's programme will be £2 which is in line with just about every other Division Two club. The programme will remain at the larger size of 48 pages which was introduced towards the end of last season. This is also in line with most other Division Two clubs with the exception of Stoke and Burnley who offer 56 pages and Oxford, with just 32 pages.

As usual, subscriptions are available which guarantee a copy of the programme for all home games, plus away if required, and include all Cup games and home pre-season friendlies. Next season's rates are as follows:

	UK	Europe	Rest of World
Home Only	£75	£90	£105
Away Only	£75	£90	£105
Home and Away	£150	£180	£210

Teamtalk added that United were expected to return with a further offer and yesterday's Sport First claimed that a undisclosed bid has been accepted, but there was no-one available for comment at United this morning.

Jamie Campbell, who missed just one game in the last two seasons, is set to join Brighton on a free transfer, while striker Richard Walker will return to Aston Villa after spending the second half of the season on loan at the Abbey. Former Leicester midfielder Sam McMahon, who joined on a short term contract in March, has been released and defender Scott Eustace has agreed to return at the beginning of the season on a three month trial.

Roy McFarland will speak to trialist Paul Bruce next week when the QPR winger returns from holiday. The manager commented, "The decisions have been taken in the best interests of the club and the players."

Left-back Campbell was offered a one year contract to stay but he is understood to have been offered a two year deal at Brighton. McFarland told the Cambridge Evening News, "We offered Jamie Campbell another year but he was aware I was planning to try and improve the squad in that position and Brighton have offered him longer terms. I had lunch with Jamie yesterday and we left wishing each other well."

Campbell said, "I would have loved to stay at Cambridge. The lads are the best bunch I've been with in the game but I'm 27 this year and at this stage you are looking for a bit of security. I thought I might get a two year offer after being an almost ever present for the last two seasons. Brighton made me a good offer. They are moving back to the town from Gillingham and potentially they are a big club."

21-year-old striker Walker had made it known he was keen to stay at the Abbey and although he was mainly restricted to the bench he managed four goals during his stay. "Richard Walker needs to improve the physical side of his game," explained McFarland. "He still has a year on his contract at Villa and we'll be monitoring his progress."

Midfielder Sam McMahon negotiated a free transfer from Leicester City in March to join United until the end of the season, but despite a good showing in the defeat at Barnet he all but disappeared from the first team picture. McFarland says in today's CEN, "We had a good look at Sam McMahon when he joined us on trial from Leicester but he isn't better than the players we have. You couldn't see him competing for a place with Alex Russell."

Defender Scott Eustace arrived on trial in December and when Marc Joseph was injured he started the last fifteen games of the season, winning many fans on the terraces with his calm and committed displays. The 24-year-old will return for pre-season training and gets another chance to earn a long-term deal, as McFarland explained: "Scott Eustace did well for us but we need to know if he can sustain it. He needs a good pre-season after quite a long spell out of the game in the past year. He's agreed to come back on a three month trial which could lead to a contract."

The manager will be seeking a midfielder, striker and a centre back to boost the squad for next season, and he said, "It's going to be a busy summer, I'm going to enjoy trying to get these players in providing we are successful."

Smart said, "I am delighted to have reached agreement with Roy after he and his team gave the directors of Cambridge United FC and the Cambridge public such a memorable season.

"It's great news for Cambridge United that Roy has signed a contract to stay with us for another three years. I believe we can continue to make progress in that period, and our aim is to get back to the first division.

"It goes without saying though that if a bigger club came in for him we would not stand in his way. That is how we have always done things."

The news was well received last night and McFarland himself was said to be "delighted".

He has been told by the United board that they cannot provide the sort of financial backing that he would ideally like to tackle life in Division Two - a figure he put at £300,000 last week - and when asked where he saw United in three years' time, he replied: "That's a difficult question.

"There is plenty of ambition at the club and I'd like to think we would be in Division One, but reality might get in the way. It's difficult to make forecasts at this stage without knowing what might happen with our better players, or what level of support we might get in the second division."

Commenting on his Third Division Manager of the Year award, received on Monday night from the Managers Association, he said, "It's the judgement of your peers, so it's the award which means the most to a manager. I regard it as a great honour. Every manager votes for his top three in the division and I came out ahead of Cardiff's Frank Burrows and Steve Parkin at Mansfield. Mr Noades at Brentford doesn't qualify to be a member of the Association."

Earlier, as the players acknowledged the cheers of supporters from the Guildhall balcony, McFarland told the fans: "We didn't quite win the trophy. But we know we were the best team in Division Three."

Season ticket sales are going very well as supporters look forward to Division Two football next season, and the club have taken over £20,000 since tickets went on sale last week.

Assistant secretary Mark Johnson said today, "It's mainly renewals at the moment but there's quite a lot of interest from new season ticket buyers and it's looking encouraging."

Peter Reid, Ray Graydon and McFarland were respectively named Manager of the Season for Divisions One, Two and Three of the Nationwide League at the annual awards evening of the League Managers' Association.

The report reads: "Sunderland's Reid was an obvious choice for the first division award, his team having swept all before them to win the division with a record points tally of 105. Graydon was a popular recipient of the Division Two award after guiding Walsall to promotion on the tightest of shoestring budgets, while in Division Three Cambridge boss McFarland was honoured not just for his team's promotion but also for some great acts of Cup giant-killing."

With Divisions Two and Three being won by big-spending Fulham and Brentford, it is reassuring to see that the managers looked beyond the obvious candidates to recognise two of their colleagues who have built attractive teams on tiny budgets.

The Cambridge Evening News reports that Cambridge United have made a bid to buy Stoke City midfielder Neil Mackenzie. The 21-year-old impressed during his recent loan spell before suffering a leg injury, and would be a popular signing.

Roy McFarland would not reveal this size of United's bid but told the CEN, "Neil showed he could probably play well at a higher level than the third division. We have to find out if he could sustain it over a longer period, but I believe he would be a good addition to the squad if we can bring him here in a reasonable deal."

Meanwhile defender Jamie Campbell is stalling on signing a new contract with United and is set for talks with Brighton. He could leave on a 'Bosman' free transfer in the summer as he is over 24 and at the end of his existing contract with United.

McFarland explained, "I believe Jamie earned a new contract by his performances for us, but it seems he is looking for more than the one year deal we have offered. He is entitled to speak to any other club, but it won't be long before we have to think about getting a possible replacement."

There is no natural replacement in the squad for Campbell at left-back, and McFarland added that the offer would only be on the table for a limited time.

McFarland and his team will travel from the Abbey Stadium tomorrow evening, arriving at the Guildhall at approximately 7.30pm for a civic reception. They will appear on the balcony at the Guildhall and many Us fans are expected in the Market Square to salute their heroes.

"It's a great way to round everything off," said McFarland. "I believe it's very important for the club and the local authority to celebrate together in this way. The city council got in touch with us the day after we clinched promotion, there was no waiting to see what might happen with the championship. Most clubs are probably honoured in this way only if they win a cup or title, so we really appreciate it.

The 21-year-old made a great impression in four appearances during his loan spell, scoring once, before he was stretchered off at the Abbey against Halifax with a hairline fracture of his leg.

McFarland told the Cambridge Evening News, "Neil showed us that bit of extra quality we need to add to our squad for next season. We'll be talking to Stoke, and David Preece and I will be getting our heads together this week to look at other possibilities.

"It would be nice to be able to spend about £300,000 on the team, but we are not in that situation and will have to build as we did for this season."

The entire first-team squad are being retained and all except left-back Jamie Campbell are under contract until at least the end of next season. Campbell's current deal expires next month and he is considering the terms of a new offer.

McFarland explained, "Everyone played a part so they are all staying with us for the second division."

Decisions will be made this week about whether to offer contracts to trialists Scott Eustace, Paul Bruce, Sam McMahon, and Aston Villa striker Richard Walker. Eustace in particular has looked the part after he was drafted in to replace the injured Marc Joseph, although the amiable defender repeated on Saturday that he had heard nothing yet on the contract front. He joined the players yesterday as they flew to Magaluf for a short end-of-season break before the supporters' club player of the year event on Friday.

On Saturday's 1-0 defeat, McFarland commented, "It was disappointing for everybody that we couldn't quite win the title in the last game. But I'm sure that will soon wear off and we'll all be celebrating an excellent season. I thought we battered Brentford in both matches, but we just didn't get the breaks. Their keeper played a blinder on Saturday."

Skipper Paul Wanless, who euphemistically described the challenge from Hermann Hreidarson that saw him stretchered off for treatment as "a bad tackle", added, "We were the better side for most of the match after that, like we were at their place, but we just don't seem to get any luck against Brentford.

"It was a heart-breaking way to end the season, but we'll soon be looking back and thinking about the promotion and the cup games. The fans were great again, and we want them to pack the place again next season. They've played a big part."

"On another day, we'd have beaten them," he said, "but we're up which is the good thing and it has been a good season."

He also paid tribute to the supporters following the promotion season in which the final two home games attracted gates of over 8,000 and the average for the season rose by 58% to over 4,500

Cambridge United: Marshall, Chenery, Ashbee (Mustoe 82'), Duncan, Eustace, Campbell (Walker 82'), Wanless, Taylor, Butler, Benjamin, Russell (Kyd 88').
Booked: Butler (foul 58').

Brentford: Woodman, Boxall, Anderson, Hreidarsson, Powell, Mahon, Scott, Quinn, Owusu, Partridge, Evans (Oatway 73').
Subs not used: Rowlands, Folan.
Booked: Quinn (foul 19'); Boxall (foul 39')

Ref: Mr D. Pugh (Wirral).

Shots On Target: Cambridge 5, Brentford 3
Corners: Cambridge 8, Brentford 7

Cambridge United handed the title to Brentford with a defensive error halfway through the second half, very much against the run of play at the time. Bee's keeper Andy Woodman then made some great saves as United threw everything at his goal to ensure that the big-spending London side were crowned champions on the award-winning Abbey turf.

[Match reports are on line here]

John Taylor is expected to return to today's starting line-up, while Neil Mustoe may return to midfield in place of Ian Ashbee.

Cambridge United strips will be made by a new supplier next season, the club revealed today. General Manager Colin Davies confirms the news in today's match programme, stating that the reasons for a change to SuperLeague are to improve both the supply of replica kit and the quality. The new strips will be made from a "breatheable" fabric.

But he promised there will be no repeat for the 8,000-plus at the Abbey tomorrow. "If anything, this performance will have made us all the more determined to finish the season on a high," said Wanless. "It is a huge game, and we won't have any trouble lifting ourselves.

"In fact, we are fired up and looking forward to it already - you couldn't ask for a better way to finish the season."

Alex Russell is the CEN Player of the Year and will receive his award ahead of tomorrow's game.

Roy McFarland commented, "That's great for Alex. I don't think anybody at the club would begrudge him the trophy. All the players are aware of what he brings to the side, and as I said before, I was very surprised he wasn't selected in the PFA Division Three side. We haven't come up against a better player this season in his position.

"He, Martin Butler and John Taylor have picked up awards this season, but what is important is that they, and everybody, at the club see our success as a real team effort."

In the U's Net voting, Martin Butler narrowly pipped John Taylor to the Player of the Season award while Andy Duncan beat Shaun Marshall to the young player equivalent.

Cambridge United: Marshall, Chenery, Ashbee, Duncan, Eustace, Campbell, Wanless, Kyd (Bruce 67'), Butler, Benjamin (Youngs 83'), Russell (McMahon 83').
Booked: Benjamin (foul 78'), Wanless (foul 84')

Swansea: Freestone, Jones, Howard, Cusack, Smith, Bound, Roberts, Thomas, Alsop, Watkin, Coates.
Subs: Bird, Lacey, Appleby.

Ref: Mr Michael Jones (Chester).

Shots On Target: Cambridge 1, Swansea 5
Corners: Cambridge 6, Swansea 6

Cambridge United's title hopes still rest squarely on Saturday's sold-out home game after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Swansea tonight. Even a United win tonight would not have made them safe from a Brentford win on Saturday and maybe Swansea's desperate urgency to clinch a play-off place tipped the game in their balance. A goal due to sloppy defending and a penalty were enough to hand the game to the Swans despite spells of United pressure.

[Match reports are on line here]

Roy McFarland has a full squad to choose from for tonight's game in Swansea and is expected to rest John Taylor ahead of Saturday's title decider. After a lively display from the bench against Plymouth, Michael Kyd is tipped for a rare start in place of Richard Walker.

"Michael looked sharp when he went on as sub at Plymouth on Saturday," McFarland told the Cambridge Evening News. "He's worked hard after his injuries and has earned his chance again. I'll be keeping John Taylor out of this one. It's too close to Saturday's title decider against Brentford, where we'll need his experience."

McFarland is thought unlikely to make many other changes, despite the two games in three days. The game has been rearranged twice already and the weather reports were of yet more heavy rain in Swansea today.

Goalkeeper Arjan Van Heusden is back in training after breaking his hand at Shrewsbury in March, but with deputy Shaun Marshall in good form the Dutchman is unlikely to be risked at this stage.

"It's a big, big game for Swansea," McFarland said, "but it's also an important one for us. If we get something we’ll go back on top and ease the pressure for Saturday's game because Brentford will have to beat us. We've put together a 10-match unbeaten run and it would be nice to add our last two games to that."

Meanwhile Swansea are guaranteed to put everything into the game tonight as they chase a play-off place. After their 4-1 defeat at Brentford on Tuesday night they have slight worries about defenders Kristian O'Leary (back), Michael Howard (ankle) and Steve Jones who picked up stitches in a head wound.

Cambridge City Council will recognise United's promotion with a civic reception at the Guildhall on Wednesday May 19th. Mayor Peter Cowell said, "Cambridge is very proud of United's success. I watched the thriller against Peterborough and, although it was a draw, I thought United were the better team and fully deserve to be promoted. I am delighted to hold this reception which will be my last engagement as mayor."

McFarland commented, "It's nice to get this kind of recognition from the city council. Our future plans depend on close co-operation between the football club and the council."

The CEN reports that he and his players will leave the Abbey by bus at 7.30pm to attend the reception.

A very young reserve side was beaten 5-1 at Wimbledon last night, basically muscled out of it by a big strong side on a big pitch. As you might expect none of the first team 'fringe' players were risked, and the U's goal was scored by pacy teenage forward James McKenzie.

United's Reserve team: James Mercer, Larry McAvoy, Jamie Scales, Dean Armstrong, (Franco Nacca), Adam Tann,Darren Howe, Keith Newby, Matthew Haniver, Mark Gibson (Daniel Chillingworth), James McKenzie, Adam Wilde.
Not used: Dale Cockrill.

The reserves finish their Avon Insurance Combination League season on Tuesday 11th May when they travel to St Albans City's ground to take on Tottenham Hotspur. The match kicks off at 7.30pm.

The youth team will play Stevenage Borough in the semi-final of the Eastern Junior Cup at Simoco Sports Ground, St Andrews Road, Cambridge at 10.30am on Saturday.

Brentford boss Ron Noades, awarded manager of the month for April, has stated that he wants to take the title with his expensively assembled side. He said today, "Swansea have to beat Cambridge to stand a chance of getting in the play-offs. They took some of their best players off against us and started thinking about tomorrow. They are obviously going to have a real go against Cambridge and that suits us."

It was reported that a new deal had been agreed before Christmas, and McFarland wrote in a matchday programme that he thought he would put pen to paper in the New Year. However complications then arose and delayed matters.

Mr Smart said, "We are very close now. We have the players signed up and the manager should soon follow. The negotiations turned out to be more difficult than expected. I didn't think there were going to be any problems with the deal we worked out in December."

Meanwhile McFarland commented: "I've always said I'd be happy to stay with Cambridge for two more years after this contract. There were just a couple of little things preventing me signing. I appreciate United giving me the job when I was looking to get back into football. I think we are just about over the obstacles now."

In recent weeks his name has been linked with the job at Nottingham Forest, and he has stated several times that he still has ambitions to manage at the highest level, sparking speculation that he was set to leave in the summer.

United clinched promotion last Tuesday night at Rochdale and Cardiff and Brentford took the two remaining automatic slots on Saturday, but tomorrow night will indicate exactly what the Us must do to be crowned champions this week. Brentford entertain Swansea tomorrow night and if they fail to win then United could take the title in Thursday's re-arranged game against the Swans side at the Vetch Field. But if the Bees win then the championship will be decided on Saturday at the Abbey when Brentford are the visitors.

United's title hopes took a slight dent in the 2-2 draw at Plymouth on Saturday, McFarland said, "We played the better football, but we gave them two goals at corner kicks, and you struggle to win if you do that away from home. We are still confident though that we'll be the champions."

Cambridge United: Marshall, Chenery, Ashbee, Duncan, Eustace, Campbell, Wanless, Walker (Kyd 61'), Butler, Benjamin, Russell.
Subs not used: Taylor, Mustoe.
Booked: Eustace (foul 68'), Wanless (foul 77').

Plymouth: Dungey, Wotton, Beswitherick, Mauge, Heathcote, Collins, Barlow, Hargreaves (Philips 45'), Crowe, Bastow, Guinan.
Subs not used: Ashton, McGovern.
Booked: Mauge (foul 87').

Ref: Mr P. Richards (Preston).

Shots On Target: Cambridge 4, Plymouth 5
Corners: Cambridge 3, Plymouth 6

Trevor Benjamin scored twice to save the U's blushes at Home Park this afternoon. Defensive errors gifted Plymouth the lead but United dig deep to get back into the game and could have taken all the points at the death.

[Match reports are online here]