Boulevard are back in soccer's top flight following last Sunday's thrilling 4-3 win over rivals Somerset Eagles, and nobody's more delighted with their First Division championship than coach Johnny Rebello.

It's three years since the Blazers last played in the Premier Division, and Rebello, who returned to coaching after a self-imposed two-year exile, admits the road back has often been a rocky one.

Through a combination of injuries to players, suspensions and other distractions off the pitch, Boulevard have managed to persevere.

"We haven't had the same 11 players since the first two games of the season," said Rebello.

"People don't look at that. It's been like . . . you get out there and you have to scratch your head and wonder what your next move is going to be."

Rebello has, however, had a rich reservoir of young talent at his disposal with Boulevard having established a flourishing junior programme.

"At times I have had to go and watch the under-18s play on a Saturday because I know I am going to need at least three of them for the Sunday," he added. "So it's definitely been a challenge."

Looking to capitalise on a solid season, the coach admitted his team were now hoping to capture the First Division double - league and Shield.

"Our main objective was to get promoted and I believe we are there.

"So now we are looking forward to moving on to the next phase which is winning the Shield and we are already in the final of that competition."

Rebello also feels that with a better touch in front of goal, his team could have given Dandy Town more of a run for their money during the FA Cup quarter-finals back in January.

"I thought that if we could have got over that hurdle (against Town), we could have gone all the way.

"We should have won the game, we played too good to come away with nothing."

The coach acknowledged that despite that loss, his young team gave a good account of themselves and managed to put that result behind them.

With the disbanding of Vasco, Rebello decided to take a break from the game. Two years later, though, the flame was reignited and the coach relished another challenge.

"I just got caught up in watching football and I decided that I wanted to be a part of something again.

"It had always been in the back of my mind to coach outside of Vasco just to show that I could coach, because people always thought that Vasco were full of talent and that they really didn't need a coach."

Rebello was quick to add that when he inherited the team from Danny Seymour, the club were in a battle to avoid relegation and that against steep odds he guided them safely to a fourth place finish in the league in addition to winning the FA Cup - all with the same nucleus of players.

"I often felt that the respect was never afforded me and so I always thought that it would be nice to perhaps one day venture outside of Vasco and either fail or become successful."

Rebello's move to Boulevard so far has proved a resounding success.

"Winning the double would be a great way to cap it off for the community down at Boulevard," added Rebello.

"The community has really been behind the team and it's alive again down here. This is really great for the organisation."