County finished the 2007–08 season fourth in the league, and subsequently won their play-off semi-final against Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 on aggregate. The club had previously visited Wembley four times, and Gannon had played on all four occasions. He did as a manager what he could never do as a player, and guided Stockport victory at Wembley; the 3–2 win over Rochdale earned Gannon's club promotion to League One. He refused to give a post-match interview to Sky Sports following a nine-month dispute with the company over a broken Skybox. Nevertheless, having quickly taken Stockport from the foot of League Two and into League One on a meagre budget, Gannon had established himself as one of the most highly rated young managers in the lower leagues. In the summer he sold Liam Dickinson to Derby County for £750,000 – a player signed by previous manager, Chris Turner from Woodley Sports for a nominal fee just over two years previous.