Fulham captain Tom Cairney has urged the club to take advantage of what he describes as a big summer and ‘push on to the next level’ in the Premier League.

The Scottish international feels the Whites are in a ‘good place’ having firmly established themselves in the top flight after a decade of bouncing between England’s top two divisions but admits that Marco Silva’s side are still struggling with consistency on their travels.

Cairney told the BBC’s Footballer’s Football Podcast:

With one Premier League game remaining, Marco Silva’s side are 14th in the table with 44 points – eight fewer than they managed in 2022-23 – while only three of their 12 league wins this season have come on the road.

“I’d say consistency has let us down, especially away from home,” said midfielder Cairney. “We’ve been so good at Craven Cottage this season, which has been a big highlight and a big plus for us, but I feel like the away form has let us down on bettering last season’s points total.

“I feel like the club is in a good place, the squad is in a better place than last season, but that consistency part has let us down on league position. We had back-to-back 5-0 wins in the Premier League, which was a nice moment. It’s hard to win 5-0 as it is, but to do it back-to-back was special. We beat Manchester United away, Tottenham at home, Arsenal at home – they were big results. Most of it has been a big plus but I feel that next season is a time for Fulham to really kick on. This summer and next season is a big moment for Fulham, like Brighton for example, to push on to the next level. Hopefully that’s what we do.”

Cairney also believes that Fulham’s run to the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they were narrowly beaten on aggregate by eventual winners Liverpool, shows the club’s potential.

“You’ve got to look at that as a big positive. Losing to Liverpool over two legs by one goal was not the end of the world, but it felt like it at the time.”