Defender James Tomkins praised West Ham's promotion back to the top flight, calling it an 'unbelievable' achievement.
Tomkins and Vaz Te delighted with promotion
Defender James Tomkins praised West Ham's promotion back to the top flight, calling it an 'unbelievable' achievement.
The Hammers clinched promotion to the Premier League as Ricardo Vaz Te's late winner sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Blackpool in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
Manager Sam Allardyce had vowed to take the club back to what he calls the Promised Land at the first attempt following last season's relegation and his side saw off the Seasiders to earn the East London club an estimated £90million windfall.
And Tomkins, who joined the Upton Park club at the age of seven, told
Sky Sport 1 HD: "It's unbelievable. Coming onto the pitch today, I was getting butterflies through by body and everything.
"It's most important that we bounced back straight away and we've done that today and that's why I signed the contract midway through the season. We wanted to get the club back in the Premier League and we've achieved that, it's unbelievable really."
Character
Meanwhile, match-winner Vaz Te who scored his 24th goal of the season to bag the winner with three minutes remaining, said: "It was a great effort from the lads. It wasn't about my goal, it was about the togetherness.
"We showed tremendous character today and deserved to go up."
The Portuguese winger, who was signed from Barnsley during the January transfer window, continued: "I've been blessed with a second chance in my career so I'm just relishing every moment really. I'm loving it and it's great to be here."
And asked if he is looking forward to playing in the top flight, he said: "It's another step and a big challenge. I think we must get there with the mentality that we are a Premier League side and not to fight relegation.
"West Ham are a massive club and everybody has to keep that in mind so we're going to get there and we're going to give our best."
Tomkins added: "I've been here since I was seven years old like you said and it is so important that this club remains in the Premier League now. Hats off to everyone."
