Brede Hangeland felt Fulham deserved yesterday’s win over Sunderland – even if it got a little nervy towards the end of the contest.

The Norwegian centre back had another solid game at the heart of the Fulham back four, but the home side were troubled by Martin O’Neill’s second-half substitutions which saw Nicklas Bendtner and Frazier Campbell change the complexion of Sunderland’s attack. Hangeland was candid enough to admit that Fulham enjoyed a few fortunate escapes in the second period but believes the Whites could have been more clinical themselves.

I thought we played really well at times and to be fair they [Sunderland] probably could have scored more than the one goal but we certainly could have scored more than two so it was a deserved victory I thought in the end.

The 30 year-old heaped praise on Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele, whose goals ultimately made the difference yesterday, for their superb seasons.

They’ve both enjoyed such good seasons. They have been brilliant and you saw the same again today and for them to score a goal each was well deserved and capped off great seasons for both of them.

Hangeland hailed the grounded nature of Fulham’s squad and revealed that the pattern of previous campaigns as well as a belief in the quality that is now at Martin Jol’s disposal meant confidence was always high that the side could put together a strong run towards the end of the season.

We’ve just kept going and for me that’s down to the mentality of the players we have here. We know how to make the most of every season and we’ll just keep going right until the end, even though we’re tired and we’ve had a long season. We’ll always just keep going and the last few years have been proof that if you manage to put your foot on the gas all the way until the end then you can finish in a good position.