The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager, after an unsuccessful period at
West Bromwich Albion, for Grimsby's most successful post-war season. In the summer of 1997, Buckley succeeded in bringing in players to the club who were to be instrumental in the club's upcoming season. Former skipper
Paul Groves was re-signed from
West Bromwich Albion, and
Kevin Donovan and
David Smith also joined the club from Albion. The mid-season capture of
Huddersfield Town midfielder
Wayne Burnett proved to be a great bit of business for Buckley. After a seemingly poor start to the League campaign, performances improved, which propelled the club into a promotion battle with
Watford,
Bristol City and an expensively assembled
Fulham (at the time the only club at this level to have spent seven-figure sums on players). A good run in the
League Cup saw The Mariners knock holders
Leicester City and fellow Premier League side
Sheffield Wednesday out of the competition before finally losing out to
Liverpool. A decent run of form had ignited the careers of such younger players as
Daryl Clare,
Danny Butterfield and
Jack Lester who were becoming an integral part of the
Blundell Park set-up. The Mariners went on to dump
Burnley out of the
Football League Trophy Northern section area final, which would see the club book its first trip to
Wembley Stadium.[1] The club were drawn against Southern section champions
AFC Bournemouth and in a tight game, an equaliser from substitute
Kingsley Black took the game into extra time, and in the 112th minute Grimsby secured the game courtesy of a
golden goal from
Wayne Burnett.[1] This was the first major trophy awarded to the club following its first appearance at Wembley. It took only four weeks for Grimsby to return to the stadium though, this time to face
Northampton Town in the Division Two Play Off Final.[1] Town won the game 1–0 thanks to a first half
Kevin Donovan goal which gave the club a historic Wembley double and The Mariners promotion back to Division One.[1]