Bernd Leno says Fulham can keep surprising people this season as he looks to build on a superb first campaign at Craven Cottage.

The German goalkeeper, one of the bargains of last summer after he helped the Whites finish tenth on their return to the Premier League having signed from Arsenal for an initial £3m, is optimistic that Marco Silva’s side can maintain the momentum generated last term – especially after keeping their head coach and key players despite speculation to the contrary.

In a wide-ranging interview with Sky Sports to preview the big kick off, Leno spoke of his happiness at London’s oldest professional club:

“In general, I feel happy. I’ve been enjoying Fulham from the very first day. You can smell it on the pitch – everyone is sharper, players are louder, we all want the season to start [now].”

The capable custodian, whose great form for Fulham earned an international recall at the end of last season, has revelled in the way the Cottagers have been able to prove the pundits wrong.

“Even the fans didn’t expect it. I heard a lot of people speaking before, ‘Fulham will go down’, but I think after the way we played, and the energy, it was quite impressive … the last four or five years, twice down, twice up, so now we surprise a lot of people. We deserved where we finished last season. Maybe now teams know what to expect, they’ve played us, they’ve watched us, but it doesn’t change our mindset. We approach games to dominate, the same as we did last season.”

Leno praised Marco Silva’s ‘straightforward’ nature and reiterated the importance of Aleksandar Mitrovic, whom the Whites have fought hard to hold onto over the past couple of months.

“Mitro is a beast. Just look at the number of goals he’s scored only playing 60 or 70 per cent of games. It’s not just his goals, it’s his personality and leadership in games and the way he keeps the ball. All my friends in the Premier League say he’s difficult to play against – you can’t move him, you can’t get the ball, and in the box he’s such a threat. It’s a good sign that other clubs are interested in our players and our manager. If that was not the case, we are not good. It’s a good sign but the club did a great job to keep most of the team – we have a spine with leaders.”

Leno is upbeat heading into Saturday’s opening game at Everton.

“We need good energy, momentum, and confidence. We’ve created a habit, especially at home, and now the people expect the same. That’s positive pressure, it’s a special pressure, we’ve showed brilliant performances and I hope we can do the same or even better.”