Leeds United and Nottingham Forest have given Gary Neville what he craves

Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League, along with Leeds United’s final day survival would have pleased Sky Sports’ pundit Gary Neville if his comments earlier this month are anything to go by.

Forest sealed their place back in the top division for the first time in 23 years in the play-off final on Sunday. A 1-0 win over Huddersfield, thanks to a Levi Colwill own goal, started celebrations both at Wembley Stadium and in Nottingham.

Forest did survive two penalty shouts during the game, with Jon Moss backed up by VAR over two claims from the Terriers as they looked to get back in the game in the second half. The final was set up thanks to a penalty shootout win over Sheffield United in the semi-final.

Before that game, Gary Neville made it clear as to who he wanted to return to the Premier League in the play-offs. "The investment in the team has put pride back in the city and feeling back on the pitch. Newcastle is a major city. It's a fantastic place. The north of England doesn't get as much investment as it should do, a lot of clubs in the south have been bought,” he said on Monday Night Football.

"We need a strong Newcastle United, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest . These different cities around the country are really important to football in this country."

As well as Forest making it back to the Premier League, Leeds fought off relegation with a win over Brentford on the final day of the season. The three points saw Burnley replace Leeds in the final relegation place as the Whites prepare for a third straight season in the top league.