Scott Parker was pleased with Fulham’s resolve as they made sure of a Championship play-off spot at the very least with a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic at Craven Cottage tonight.

The Fulham boss professed his delight with the way Fulham handled the challenge of fellow promotion-chasers Cardiff, who made life difficult for his side in the early stages of a tense contest. The Whites went in front thanks to an Aleksandar Mitrovic penalty and made sure of the victory through Josh Onomah’s second half strike.

Parker told his post-match press conference:

First and foremost, I was pleased with the result and the win. We had to stand up to a challenge tonight which was always going to be there from a strong, physical Cardiff team. They’re a team that like to put the ball in the right areas and into the box from all angles of the pitch and also from set-plays and long throws. We stood up to that challenge and defended the edge of our box very well.

Having said that, there was a real element of quality that shone through. There were times where I’d have liked to have had more control but it’s difficult against Cardiff who constantly put the ball in those areas. I thought 2-0 was a fair result and we’ve had some big chances. Overall, I’m pleased with the resilience we showed.

The Fulham manager is still refusing to give up on their chances of forcing their way into the automatic promotion spots after this victory lifted his side to third in the table.

The top two is there and we need to keep pushing. I’m delighted that we got to the play-offs. The team we’ve beaten tonight was a team that was in the Premier League and was eight points better off than us last year. To get to the play-offs, we’ve done well.

He still feels that next week’s trip to second-placed West Brom may prove pivotal.

We’ve got a big game on Tuesday [at West Brom]. Four points is the gap and they do have that game in hand on us. We’ll go there looking for a result to keep the pressure going. We can assess from there how we’re looking.

Parker admitted he was happy to have Mitrovic available again for the run-in following his three match suspension for violent conduct.

“He’s been a critical part of what we’ve done. In saying that, he made a big mistake three games ago and he had to take his medicine. The team have stepped up to go on without him. We’re pleased to have him back, it’s a squad game and everyone will be needed in this climate. We’ll keep pushing and keep going until the end.