HE WAS on the Wembley pitch the moment that City’s promotion was confirmed.

But his part in the “history makers” of 2012-2013 is often overlooked.

When the roll call of names who put the club on the map in an epic season are trotted out, it’s unlikely that Ricky Ravenhill will get much of a mention.

Yet he started nearly half of the league fixtures and made 31 appearances in total.

For every Arsenal, Aston Villa, Burton play-off and Wembley final, there was a Northampton and Torquay away, York and Cheltenham.

The nitty-gritty games and results which all contributed to propelling Phil Parkinson’s side into the mix and ultimately out of League Two.

Seven seasons on and Gary Bowyer is looking to negotiate the similarly tortuous route back from the bottom tier at the first attempt.

Despite a home record currently the envy of the rest of the division, the fans remain to be convinced about how City are going about it.

The dire draw at Leyton Orient last week, following on from a frustrating point on the road against Macclesfield, has once more raised the debate of what matters most, quantity or quality.

Ideally, supporters want to see both and Bowyer is adamant his team will “click” before long.

But, as Ravenhill insists, there is only one goal – promotion at all costs.

“Depending what your resources are, there is a big case for you’ve got to do what you must to get out of that league,” he said.

“If you do have to grind things out and it’s not as pretty sometimes, that is still a way to do it.

“I think you can play your way out of the division as well. But you’ll come up against teams and pitches that don’t suit that.

“At this time of the year, you may come unstuck if you’re trying to be a pure footballing team and pass it all the time and play out.

“It might be more attractive to watch but when it doesn’t work opponents can bully you. You’ve got to be able to stand up that physically.

“You can come up against conditions in the lower leagues that don’t let you do it any other way at times.

“So, you’ve got to have enough people in your team that can see games out and dig out 1-0 wins.”

The central midfielder was always willing to get down and dirty in just over two years at Valley Parade.

Gary Jones and Nathan Doyle were rightly feted as the heartbeat of the promotion team but Ravenhill put in plenty of hard yards when called upon.

He added: “People don’t remember some of those games when you look back. You just see we picked up wins here and there.

“That’s the most important thing. Everybody wants to be entertained when they go to football but they want to be successful as well.

“Sometimes you’ve got to learn to win ugly. A sign of a good team is when you’re not playing particularly well but still grinding out results.

“That builds confidence in the dressing room that you can pick up points even when the team aren’t at their best.

“I’m a big believer that you’ve got to have the right characters.

“It’s a long season and a strong mentality is needed because it’s not always going to be pretty.”

Ravenhill now works for a recruitment company in his native Doncaster but he keeps his hand in with football as assistant manager with Mickleover Sports in the National League North.

“It is a challenge the way you handle people who are playing on a Tuesday night having driven two hours to get there after a long day at work. It’s a different world but I’m enjoying it.

“But even at our level, we’ve found you can’t play all the time. We were getting managers last season saying, ‘You play some brilliant football but we beat you’.

“We realised you do need to add some solidity to the team.”

Ravenhill keeps a close eye on City’s progress and believes they are well placed going into the frantic holiday fixture list.

“It’s still a long way off. I think the Christmas period is massive and hopefully they can come out the other side still in a strong position.

“But I can’t see why they can’t have a successful season. Gary Bowyer has got them in a good place and done a great job turning things round from last year.

“It’s always going to be a challenge when teams come to Valley Parade. It’s the biggest ground with the best atmosphere so everybody is up for it.

“You see them before the game out on the pitch having a look round. It’s got that cup final feel for them.

“They will play at their maximum and make it hard for you. Again, you’ve got to find a way to be patient and do whatever to win.”