Delighted David Wagner hailed his Huddersfield Town players as "legends" after they clinched a place in the Premier League.

Town beat Reading 4-3 on penalties at Wembley to win a Sky Bet Championship play-off final which finished 0-0 after extra-time.

The win put Town into the top flight for the first time since 1972 and netted them a kitty of around £200m from the richest game in world club football.

Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner with the trophy after winning the Sky Bet Championship play-off final
Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner with the trophy after winning the Sky Bet Championship play-off final

So a journey which started in the isolation of a remote Swedish island finished in front of 39,000 Terriers fans at the national stadium (in a crowd of 76,682).

Wagner said: "I said to the players before the play-offs that they are heroes - because of finishing fifth in the league and playing an unbelievable season.

"But from being hero to zero in football is sometimes only a week!

"So I told them here they had an opportunity to become legends - and they have done it.

"They are now legends for sure."

Everyone will remind people in years to come of this group of players, of what they have done on a small budget - much less than the £12m which has been mentioned - and they have deserved it.

"This is not a fluke. This has been deserved and they are legends."

Wagner said he would like to keep all the players together if possible, but hadn't had time to think about the "hard work that lies ahead".

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After watching Chris Lowe, Nahki Wells, Aaron Mooy and Christopher Schindler secure the promotion winning penalties (only Michael Hefele had his kick saved) Wagner said he was "unbelievably happy".

"I am covered in champagne, so I apologise for that, but this club has not been in the top division for 45 years and I am so happy and proud of my players," said the 45-year-old German.

"I am happy for everyone who has helped us make this big, big achievement, and especially for the chairman (Dean Hoyle) who has backed nearly all of my ideas - even when they seemed ridiculous!

"We said 'No Limits' this season and now we know what our limit is - it's the Premier League!

"We are very happy, because this competition, the Championship and the play-offs, they are very hard to win.

"Reading have had a very good season and yet they have to play in the Championship again next year.

"We told our players all the way through they would have to come out of their comfort zone.

"We knew if we didn't leave our comfort zone we wouldn't be competitive, so we asked the players many times to come out of their comfort zone and they've done it. They have been rewarded for their investment in what we wanted."

Wagner said he wasn't worried about speculation linking him to other clubs and he hadn't had time to think about taking on his good friend and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp next season.

"There is a lot of work ahead but at the moment it's just about celebrating," he said.

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"We travel back to Huddersfield and, after that, we don't have a plan other than to celebrate - but I do know I will have a lot of calls to make!"

Wagner said he was overwhelmed by the support the team received.

"They have been with us all season. We created an identity and a style of play and they supported us.

"I am so happy for the chairman, for the supporters and for the whole town, because now we are Premier League!

"We didn't have the biggest squad together, but we were totally independent of the circumstances around us and we had total belief and trust in what we were doing.

"I am unbelievably happy we have brought this fairytale to a happy ending. Unbelievably happy."

Play-off final: Huddersfield Town promoted to the Premier League