Brighton and Hove Albion will play Premier League football again next season.
The team has eclipsed their predecessors of the late 1970s and early 1980s and will embark on a fifth consecutive top flight season.
Fulham’s defeat at home to Burnley tonight (Monday 10 May) ensures that the Londoners fill the final relegation spot.
It means that Albion’s current tally of 37 points will be enough to beat the drop.
Albion have always beaten relegation from the Premier League with a couple of games or so to spare.
So far they have never had to play the final game of the season with the prospect of the drop hanging over them.
By the time the Seagulls play at Arsenal on Sunday 23 May, Brighton will have been in the bottom three for just one week in 152 Premier League matches.
Next season the fans will be hoping that Albion’s results reflect some of their dominant performances in matches that, more than once this season, ended in disappointment.
But for now, it’s time to savour the relief and look forward with hope.
Phew!