Hello and welcome to live coverage of the post-match press conferences from both Brentford and Fulham camps after tonight's Sky Bet Championship play-off final at Wembley went the way of the Cottagers in extra-time.
Scott Parker's side are returning to the top flight at the first time of asking thanks to two goals from left back Joe Bryan in the additional 30 minutes after the game had finished scoreless at the end of 90 minutes.
It was heartbreaking for Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach who could now see a couple of his start names sold in the transfer window. His goalkeeper David Raya was cuplable for the first goal, caught out of position to leave a long-range free kick past him.
Henrik Dalsgaard's headed goal in the fourth minute of added time was a mere consolation.
The regulation 90 minutes produced little to live in the memory, with Fulham dominating the opening half without really working Raya too hard.
Brentford did grow in stature as the second period progressed but both sides seemed hamstrung by the nerves associated with such a big game.
Stay tuned below for reaction from both camps one the celebrations and comiserations on the pitch are completed.
Bryan's free kick - something worked on?
We did our due diligence on the keeper and he has an aggressive, very high position from free kicks. We spoke to Joe and Harrison about that in a lunchtime meeting.
What you mean by same mistakes? Less spending?
Probably. You can't build teams with drastic changes and swings of players. This team have been around myself for 15 months and improved. A lot more to be done but I'm happy with where we are with those additions. We'll need to add but no drastic changes.
Did you have to win promotion?
We played a one-off game and it could have easily been the other way around. We'd have given it a go next year.
What next?
There were mistakes last time. We need to do things differently. I want to try and enjoy what we've done so far. We all understand that and will learn from those mistakes. What we're trying to build here is some core foundations that get you far in life.
Parker is here... is it your biggest achievement?
I'm proud of my players, I've seen them grow along a journey that has been tough. I'm the one that fronts it up but they are there all the time. I'm emotional and proud for them. At times this year it has been difficult and tough. When you're going at 100mph, you lose sight of other things and family but I've got an amazing staff and network around me. That's why I'm emotional and very proud. This is something for them that hopefully makes them realise it's worth it. Fifteen months ago this team lost most weeks. What people don't understand is a deeper issue at the club, gaping wounds but along the way we've pushed and pushed. We knew how important it was.
Message to the players?
Extremely proud. They have given everything for 13 months. We're so fine margins away from the big dream. In many ways it's crazy... that's football but we scored second most goals, second best defence. In normal season we'd be going up but this is football. I'm extremely fond of them. What a group of players, fantastic staff but more importantly unbelievable people.
Can you keep this group together?
Not my biggest concern right now. The reason why I'm most down at this moment is mainly for the fans, for Matthew Benham, the people at the club for many, many years. They deserve to be in the Prem. I also care and believe so much in this group players. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow but I know we'll have a strong side going into the Championship next season.
What's next?
Important to relax for a few days and the sun will rise again tomorrow. It's not the end of the world. I'll be sad tonight, disappointed but in football like life you need to be strong. You need to show resilience and bounce back from setbacks. We're coming back even stronger next season.
Thomas Frank is here...
First, congratulations to Fulham, Scott Parker and his coaching staff. I wish them the best of luck It's tough to lose a final like this in a very tight game. I'm proud of my players, this club and what we've achieved. We've gone from mid-table to a team who was the third best in the table and played against three teams who came down last year or two years ago. We are very fine margins from the Premier League, which is an incredible achievement for us. But this is football, you don't always get what you deserve. We put so much hard work into it but there needed to be a loser tonight and unfortunately it was us.
