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• Gary Lineker congratulates Everton but ‘gutted’ as Leicester suffer relegation

  Gary Lineker has congratulated Everton after his former club survived in the Premier League at the expense of his boyhood team Leicester.

  The two clubs had been in jeopardy heading into the final round of fixtures on Sunday but ultimately Everton’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth ensured they avoided the drop.

  At one stage it looked as though it could be the Foxes who stayed up as they took an early lead against West Ham but their eventual 2-1 win was rendered academic by Everton’s result.

  The Toffees ended the season in 17th place, two points ahead of Leicester, while Leeds were also relegated after a 4-1 loss to Tottenham.

  Former England striker Lineker, who began his career at Leicester before spending a season at Everton in the mid-1980s, tweeted: “Absolutely gutted, but glad it’s Everton. Have a lot of love for that great football club. Congratulations.”

  Leicester’s relegation comes seven years after they were crowned Premier League champions and just two years after they won the FA Cup.

  Lineker added: “A word on Leicester. If eight years ago, you’d have given me the option of winning the Premier League and the FA Cup and then get relegated, I’d have snapped your hand off. Also I’d have told you not to be so utterly ridiculous.”

  It has been a dismal season for Leicester and TV pundit Roy Keane was not sure how quickly they could recover.

  The former Manchester United midfielder said on Sky Sports: “They didn’t seem to get any momentum into the season from a bad start. It’s no surprise to see them where they are.

  “Clubs can bounce back but it isn’t easy. I think it is a rebuilding job at Leicester.”

  Leeds’ three-year stint in the Premier League ended in a whimper as they were thrashed by Spurs at Elland Road.

  The club had brought in Sam Allardyce in a last-ditch attempt to escape relegation with four games remaining but the former England boss was unable to engineer a recovery.

  The team collected just one point from Allardyce’s games and finished in 19th position, five points behind Everton.

  Keane was scathing of their performances.

  He said: “They’ve looked weak over the last month or two, even with Sam coming in.

  “They were fighting for their lives today and conceded four goals at home. That’s nowhere near good enough.

  “Sam obviously came in too late. Defensively they look so weak. Some of the goals – it’s almost pub team defending.

  “Not strong enough mentally, that desire – nowhere near good enough.”

  Chelsea, meanwhile, aimed a parting shot at Leeds on social media.

  Rivalry between those two clubs dates back to some hard-fought clashes in the 1960s and 70s.

  In August, Leeds trolled Chelsea on Twitter during their 3-0 victory over the London club.

  In that game, Chelsea tweeted the Blues were “starting to assert ourselves” just moments before Leeds opened the scoring and quickly followed with a second goal.

  “Life comes at you fast!” Leeds tweeted in reply.

  Now, nine months later, Chelsea have got their own back.

  “It certainly does,” they tweeted.

• Willian would like to extend Fulham stay but no decision made on Brazilian's future

  Willian wants to stay put at Fulham, though a decision has yet to be made on the Brazilian's future at Craven Cottage.

  The 34-year-old former Chelsea and Arsenal playmaker joined Fulham in September last year and has been a key player for Marco Silva's men this season.

  Fulham signed off on an impressive first campaign back in the Premier League with a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, with Willian setting up Kenny Tete's opening goal.

  That represented Willian's fifth league assist of the season, and his 10th direct goal contribution in the competition for Fulham.

  Willian – who is soon to be out of contract – is unsure if he will be staying in west London, but he would be happy to do so.

  "I don't know yet," he told Stats Perform. "Honestly, I have no idea what is going to happen. The future belongs to God.

  "If I stay at Fulham, for sure I'll be fine, I'll be happy. I feel very good there, it's a club that welcomed me very well. But if it's somewhere else, I'll try to do my best in the same way.

  "I haven't decided yet. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks, what I'll decide. But if I could stay in the Premier League and at Fulham, it would be a good thing for me."

  Explaining why he elected to return to England with Fulham, who had been tipped to struggle yet managed to remain well clear of danger, Willian said: "I've always loved the Premier League. That's not news to anyone, everyone knows how much I'm a fan of the league here. 

  "The Premier League, for me, is the best league in the world.

  "Deciding to go to Fulham was a matter of a week or so. I was already in London. I came here to be closer to here and to have some conversations with my manager. It was a matter of a week or so before I decided to go to Fulham.

  "I had some talks with Marco Silva as well and I really liked what I talked to him about and what he told me."

  Another new signing that has starred for the Cottagers this season is Joao Palhinha, who has impressed as a holding midfielder.

  "He's our watchdog," Willian said of the in-demand Portugal international. "He's the watchdog of our team. Without a doubt, he's an important player.

  "He's a player who does a fundamental job. As they say in football, he does the dirty work, which is the player who steals a lot of the balls and makes it possible for us to attack the opposition."

• I apologise I didn’t do better – Sam Allardyce says sorry after Leeds relegated

  Leeds boss Sam Allardyce apologised to the club’s fans after a 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham confirmed their Premier League relegation.

  Allardyce, who Leeds had turned to in desperation with four games remaining, also urged the club to quickly resolve their ownership issue to aid their bid to bounce straight back from the Sky Bet Championship.

  The former England manager said he had no regrets about taking on the job and will sit down with the board next week to discuss whether he will stay in the role.

  Allardyce said: “I can’t say I’ve enjoyed it. I’m glad I came back. I tried my best to get Leeds out of trouble, but I can’t enjoy anything when I don’t win.

  “We didn’t leave a stone unturned and it’s really sad that Leeds is in this position and to the fans, I apologise that I didn’t do better and the players didn’t do better.”

  Leeds issued a statement shortly after the game also apologising to the club’s supporters for a “painful” relegation.

  It read: “We apologise to our fanbase that the performances this season have not seen the club consolidate our status as we had all hoped.

  “However, Leeds United remains in a strong position to build a team that can challenge for promotion from the Championship next season.

  “We know things have not been good enough, we know we have to improve, but please be assured that behind the scenes we have worked hard to ensure that the past will not be repeated.

  “Our focus is now on how we get straight back to the Premier League. ”

  Leeds majority shareholder and chairman Andrea Radrizzani is understood to have stayed in Italy as the club crashed out of the top flight.

  Harry Kane’s brace and goals from Pedro Porro and Lucas Moura ensured Leeds’ three-year stay was over and Jack Harrison’s second-half effort for Leeds was scant consolation for their fans, who vented their fury at the board throughout the match.

  Speculation is mounting over whether a consortium Radrizzani is reported to be part of is poised to complete a takeover at Sampdoria and so expedite the sale of his shares in Leeds to American co-owners 49ers Enterprises.

  Allardyce said: “I can tell them (the Leeds board) what I think needs to be done and then they can say what they think.

  “Obviously, how is the club going to go forward? And who with? Because we all know about whether it’s going to be bought or stay the same, what’s going to happen?

  “That’s probably the first factor that needs to get sorted out before you even speak to me, if you’re going to speak to me.”

  Spurs, who missed out on a place in Europe next season despite Sunday’s result, will also begin their search for a new manager and interim boss Ryan Mason said some “huge decisions” would have to be made by the club.

  Mason, who has won two of his six games back in temporary charge, said: “First of all it’s to understand who we want to be and where we want to go, going forward.

  “Then it’s realising who fits that, members of staff and also players as well. It’s an important few weeks now and hopefully we make the right decisions.”

  Mason added: “We have quite big squad. Whoever is in charge in pre-season, there are a lot of players and decisions to make.

  “Obviously the bigger picture is disappointment over how the season has gone as a whole because we’ve finished outside of Europe for the first time in a long time. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”