Ben Foster has been the crucial cog in West Brom’s superb Premier League campaign according to team-mate Jonny Evans.

The Baggies find themselves eighth in the league with just two games of the season remaining, and a miserly defence has been the key to their success.

They have conceded just 46 goals in their 36 games and while Evans – along with the likes of Gareth McAuley and Craig Dawson – have been rocks at the back, the Northern Ireland international is quick to point to the impact of goalkeeper Foster.

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The stopper spent ten agonising months on the sidelines following cruciate ligament surgery in 2015 but having been back to his best this term, Evans insists the impact of the man who was named West Brom Supporters Club’s Player of the Season earlier this week can’t be overstated.

“Ben’s had a very good season. Last year when I came to the club, he was coming back from his knee injury,” said Evans.

“He’s done very well, he manages himself well and he is very professional about it all. Some of the saves he has pulled off this year have kept us in games – he has been fantastic.

“He’s probably one of the best in the league at shot-stopping. Teams are going to be having a lot of shots from outside the box against us and he has been excellent.”

Steve Cook had never won a personal award before this season, so the Bournemouth defender was understandably ecstatic to scoop a hat-trick of gongs over the weekend.

Cook was handed the Daily Echo/Micky Cave Player of the Year award, along with the AFC Bournemouth Exiles Player of the Year and the AFC Bournemouth Vice Presidents’ Player of the Year award before Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over Burnley.

The 26-year-old has been a rock at the heart of the Cherries defence as they have comfortably steered themselves away from any relegation danger.

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“I’m delighted and I thank the fans who voted for me,” said Cook. “It tops off a really good season. Hopefully I can keep improving and keep going.

“I’ve not seen the awards properly yet. I don’t know who’s got them – they’re the first-ever awards I’ve won, so they’re really special.”

Junior Stanislas and Josh King netted the goals that downed the Clarets at the Vitality Stadium and lifted Bournemouth to tenth in the Premier League table.

They now have just one game remaining – a trip to Leicester City next Sunday – and Cook is desperate to secure an impressive top-half finish.

“I’m really pleased with the win,” added Cook. “We’ve got one more game and the incentives are still there for us to finish in the top half.

“I thought we were very professional against Burnley and topped off a good home campaign. It’s always difficult.A lot of sides do have a big strong centre-forward and it is difficult.

“Every game’s different – we defended well as a team. It’s a shame we didn’t get the clean sheet but overall, I think we’re very pleased.”

Middlesbrough’s home Premier League campaign may have ended with a whimper, but head coach Steve Agnew insisted there was at least one ray of sunshine for his side in Patrick Bamford.

Boro had already been relegated even before Southampton came to town on Saturday, with their misery compounded with a 2-1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium.

That means at least half of their top-flight matches will be defeats, despite Bamford finding the net in the closing stages in the North East.

That was the striker’s first goal in a season blighted by injuries, returning to Teesside having originally started the campaign with Premier League rivals Burnley.

And Agnew believes a goal was nothing less than the 23-year-old deserved, hopeful he can put a turbulent period behind him over the summer.

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“I’m really pleased for Patrick because it’s been a frustrating 18 months for him,” Agnew said.

“He’s a real talent. It’s taken him a while to get up to speed but he deserves his chance and he’s taken it.

“It was a difficult afternoon, emotionally we’re all disappointed.

“It was a game we wanted to win, we wanted to give something back to the fans after what’s been a hard season.

“Again, we made it difficult for ourselves. We eventually clawed our way back in but we couldn’t get the result we wanted.”

Hector Bellerin says that the chips were down for Arsenal on Saturday and that he and his team-mates had no choice but to overcome their Stoke City hoodoo.

Ahead of their trip to the Potters, Arsene Wenger’s troops had only won one of their previous eight trips to the bet365 Stadium but the visitors, who are still gunning for Champions League qualification, rose to the occasion this time around.

Olivier Giroud’s brace, in addition to goals from Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, saw Arsenal cruise to a comfortable 4-1 victory, keeping their top-four hopes alive and kicking.

And full-back Bellerin believes Saturday’s showdown was a case of sink or swim.

“We knew that we were playing for our lives really, so any result other than a win wasn’t good for us,” said the 22-year-old.

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“We knew that at the start of the game, so we knew we had to win no matter what. I think the team did really well.

“We had loads of chances. It was important to get them in and I think the team did really well.”

The young Spaniard also reckons that victory over Stoke demonstrated that Arsenal have the stomach to battle until the bitter end to seal a Champions League spot.

Bellerin said: “Definitely – that’s something this team has.

“We have a lot of heart, a lot of character, and, even though in some games it may not look like we’ve shown it, the team really wants to be there, and we’ve shown that.”

Ronald Koeman was pleased to see breakthrough star Tom Davies show off another string to his bow as Everton overcame Watford on Friday night.

Ross Barkley’s second-half strike settled matters at Goodison Park as Koeman’s men ran out 1-0 winners and the Everton manager was impressed by the efforts of teenage midfielder Tom Davies, who was forced to switch positions midway through the game.

Following Enner Valencia’s half-time introduction, Davies moved to an unfamiliar right-back role but the Toffees chief was pleased with the versatility displayed by the Everton academy product, even if he blamed exuberance of youth for one overzealous foray forward against the Hornets.

“Tom can play out of different positions,” said Koeman.

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“I still think the midfield role is his best position but he showed in the second half that he can play as a right full-back.

“He did well. We improved offensively in second half on the right-hand side.

“At one moment in the game, he tried to do the same thing he did against Manchester City when he scored [in a 4-0 victory on January 15], but you can’t do that as a right full-back.

“But he’s young and he will learn that. I told him and he will understand, and not make that mistake again.”

Peter Crouch is confident that Stoke City will return stronger than ever next season.

Stoke bade farewell to their home fans for this campaign with a disappointing 4-1 loss to Arsenal on Saturday.

The Potters have struggled at the back-end of the Premier League season – they have only won one of their last ten.

Crouch was on target for Stoke on Saturday in their defeat to the Gunners however, and is confident that Mark Hughes’ team will come good.

“I don’t think we’ve been at it towards the end of the season and it’s been very frustrating, certainly to watch and be a part of,” he said.

“It’s a shame we didn’t finish as well as we would have liked in front of our own fans but we’ll go again next season.

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“We will regroup, look at a few things and be a lot stronger next year.

“I thought we were going to get back into the game but with us throwing men forward you know that Arsenal can pick you off and that’s what happened in the end.

“We threw two up top and caution to the wind and tried to get back into it. We almost did it and so it’s frustrating to concede those late goals.”

For Marouane Fellaini, football is all about winning trophies – so it’s no wonder that the upcoming Europa League final is consuming his thoughts.

The Belgian midfielder notched a first-half header in the 1-1 semi-final second leg draw with Celta Vigo on Thursday, which sent Manchester United into the final 2-1 on aggregate.

United will now square off against Ajax on Wednesday, May 24, in Stockholm as they look to lift the second-tier European trophy for the first time in their history.

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Victory over the Dutch giants would also ensure a return to the Champions League next term but Fellaini is adamant that it’s the glory of winning a competition that is spurring him on.

“You play football to win things,” said Fellaini. “You wake up every morning and go training to work on that goal.

“If we win, it will be an amazing moment but there is still a lot of work to do.

“All the players want to do it. We’ve worked hard to get to the final and we have the motivation to win it. It’s a big trophy that the club have never won.

“It was an important goal because we are going to the final – I think all the players, the staff, the supporters and the club as a whole deserve that.

“The crowd were amazing and they push us in every game. We have played 14 games in the Europa League, which is a lot, but we are in the final now and we will do everything to win it.”

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admits he has enjoyed shutting the club’s critics up this season by clinching the Premier League title.

A dismal campaign a year ago saw the Blues finish tenth – below the likes of Southampton, West Ham and Stoke – but they have bounced back spectacularly this term to win the league with games to spare.

Chelsea lifted the title in 2014-15 before their dramatic fall from grace but under new manager Antonio Conte – and his much-vaunted 3-4-3 formation – they have rediscovered their winning touch.

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And Courtois concedes that all the negativity about their displays a year ago has proved ample motivation to get back on track.

“We had a bad season,” said Courtois. “We had a lot of critics, everybody in the team; a lot of laughter at us.

“It’s not nice after a season when you won the league. Some of the criticism was deserved – some not – but to bounce back in this way, to be champions again and to have been top a long way, is amazing.

“They said we didn’t want to play anymore, that we are lazy, and that’s not true.

“We try to win our games and last year was just a one-off, especially for a team like Chelsea, with the players we have here.

“Everybody was hurt in their pride and that’s why we wanted to bounce back this season.”

Johann Berg Gudmundsson is keen to put his injury woes behind him after continuing his Burnley comeback on Saturday.

The Icelandic winger, a summer signing from Charlton Athletic in the wake of his country’s eye-catching Euro 2016 campaign, made his third successive appearance as a substitute in the Clarets’ 2-1 loss at Bournemouth.

A knee injury, coupled with a host of other niggles, has restricted the 26-year-old to just seven appearances since the turn of the year and Gudmundsson is hoping that he can feature more prominently next term.

“I can’t wait for next season. Injuries haven’t helped me this season. I’ve been away for way too long,” said the Burnley man.

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“Next season, I want to stay fit and as I have shown when I have played, I can definitely help the team.”

Gudmundsson crossed for striker Sam Vokes to head home an equaliser against his former club Bournemouth but Sean Dyche’s men were eventually beaten, with the in-form Josh King grabbing a late winner.

The Burnley wideman was disappointed that he and his team-mates couldn’t reward their travelling fans and has switched focus to giving the Clarets faithful something to cheer about in their final game of the season against West Ham at Turf Moor onnext Sunday.

Gudmundsson said: “The fans were great [on Saturday]. They have been unbelievable supporting us across the country and it would have been great to get a point, but it hasn’t happened.

“We have been unbelievable at home. The fans have been great at home as well and we want to finish off with a great performance, and hopefully get the three points.”

Alan Shearer has delivered a withering assessment of relegated Sunderland, suggesting Black Cats supporters should be seeking reimbursement following their team’s home defeat to Swansea City.

David Moyes’ side were condemned to the Championship with four games to go and suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of a resurgent Swansea on Saturday.

Newcastle United legend Shearer, speaking in his role as a pundit of the BBC’s Match of the Day, didn’t pull any punches when summing up Sunderland’s final display of the season at the Stadium of Light.

“In the first half, they were absolutely disgraceful – there was a complete lack of effort,” said Shearer, who scored 206 goals for Sunderland’s bitter north-east rivals, while also taking charge of eight games as interim manager in 2009.

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“It’s the last home game of the season. They’ve been relegated and you’d think they’d give their fans something to shout about.

“It was lazy. There was nothing in their performance at all.

“I’m surprised the fans lasted so long. They should be asking for their money back – it was that bad.”

Shearer also believes that major work needs to be undertaken in the summer transfer window to mould Sunderland’s current side into one that can win promotion back to the top flight next term.

The former Premier League goal king said: “There is no way that team will get back up into the Premier League.”