Tom Cairney Claims Fulham's Promotion Has Justified His Decision to Stay Amid Transfer Talk

Tom Cairney has revealed that Fulham's promotion back to the top flight has justified his decision to stay with the club amid interest from Premier League sides.

Fulham returned to the peak of English football at the expense of Aston Villa who lost 1-0 to Slavisa Jokanovic's side in the Championship playoff final at Wembley on Saturday.

Speaking after the victory, Cairney - who scored the winning goal to take the Whites back to the Premier League - revealed (via BBC Sport): "I signed the contract extension for a reason.

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"I believe what we're doing here is special and what the gaffer's doing is special.

"When I've been linked with a few clubs, people have been questioning what I've been doing.

"I've been saying for quite a while that we've been playing Premier League football in the Championship and I'm so happy that we are getting to play Premier League football in the Premier League now.

"It is a dream come true. It feels incredible. It feels like an out-of-body feeling."

Fulham endured a slow start to the campaign, but Cairney praised Jokanovic and the team for their efforts while insisting his side can continue their attractive style even against the very best.

He added: "In my eyes, for the last two years, we've been the best team in the league.

"Even though we didn't win the league or win automatic promotion, we honestly at times blew teams away and it was a joy to play in.

"The way we play, people try to man-mark us, but the way we rotate and how fluid it is, it is really hard.

"I'm not stupid. I know we won't be able to do that against all teams in the Premier League, but I believe we'll really hold our own and I believe we'll stay there for a long time."