Last Sunday's win at Portsmouth secured their survival for a further season and Stalteri, who joined the club on loan from Tottenham in January, says he is proud of what the team achieved.

"The defence came together in the last two or three months," Stalteri explained. "We always knew if that we were going to stay up we needed to keep a lot of clean sheets, especially in the last few games.

"The game at Manchester City was the key point in the season. At half-time we were relegated and it was a massive comeback. For us to win four of the last five games is all credit to the team.

"I feel very proud. My goal when I came here was to keep this club in the Premier League.

"The last three months have been a grind and the longest three months I've had in my career in terms of pressure and ups and downs - but in the end it paid off for us. I've enjoyed my time and I hope we can continue next season."