Josh Onomah dedicated his play-off wondergoal to Fulham manager Scott Parker and says he is delighted to be able to repay some of his coach’s faith following a slow start to life at Craven Cottage.

Parker, who coached Tottenham’s under-18 side before moving back to west London to join Slavisa Jokanovic’s coaching staff when the Whites won promotion to the top flight, picked Onomah as the makeweight in the deal that took Ryan Sessegnon to White Hart Lane last summer. The former England youth international found it tough to settle in his new surroundings initially but has really come into his own since the Championship resumed after lockdown.

Onomah told FFCTV about the part that Parker has played in his own development:

He [Parker] is someone I looked up to, I dedicate that goal to him because he someone who always believes in me and I thank him for giving me the chance. From the day one I have come in he has always believed in my ability trying to get the best from me and towards the end of the season, I started to show him.

The talented midfielder was perhaps guilty of underplaying the magnificence of his opening goal that sparked Fulham into life at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Harrison Reed gave it to me and when I got into the box I knew they couldn’t really touch me so I dribbled past them and when I hit the back of the net I was over the moon. It was a great feeling for men and my family, we will go into the second leg and do the same again. I relaxed, stayed calm and gained composure and did that and got the reward for it.

Onomah admitted that Fulham were below-par in the first half as Cardiff made a quick start and recognises the importance of not resting on their laurels, despite establishing a two-goal lead.

We started the game quite slowly and in the second half we came out strong and we got the goal after the goal we defended as a team and worked hard and it shows how good the morale is. We must be composed, stay calm and do the same thing on Thursday.