Fulham joined their opponents in qualifying for next season’s inaugural Europa League through the labours of others, but only one of these teams looks like seriously fighting for honours in the near future. And not simply because Everton have an FA Cup Final next weekend to look forward to.

Everton will approach their Wembley date with Chelsea full of confidence after this latest demonstration of their professionalism and outstanding work ethic, but their future looks bright regardless, largely because of the quality of their manager. David Moyes’s side deservedly finished fifth for the second successive season and, with Arsenal beset by problems, can realistically plot an assault on the Champions League places.

The only disappointment of another uplifting afternoon in London was the hamstring injuries suffered by Phil Neville and Steven Pienaar that make them doubtful for Saturday, although Moyes was determined to look on the bright side.

“The team’s playing well and we want to carry on,” he said. “I’m going to try and prepare as we would for any other away game, but the Cup Final will make things different. I’ve never been there before and I’m looking forward to it.”

While Everton can legitimately look upwards, the suspicion persists that Fulham may already have reached their Everest, a sense increased by the sale of celebratory Harrods champagne after the final whistle and repeated references to the historic achievement of their best season. Even Roy Hodgson admitted as much, describing securing Fulham’s highest league finish as one of the proudest achievements of his 36-year managerial career. Given that the 61-year-old has won six league titles, taken Inter Milan to the Uefa Cup final and led Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup finals, that was some claim, but the transformation since he inherited a team bottom of the Barclays Premier League 18 months ago has been extraordinary.

“We looked doomed when I came in, but a year and a half later we’re in Europe,” Hodgson said. “It’s a fantastic achievement. I’ve had a long career and been very lucky with a few honours coming my way. This will be remembered as one of my finest moments and it was great to enjoy it in the company of our fans.

“I had a long chat with David Moyes after the game and we agreed that this is a crowning achievement to a great season. We can look back and say 2008-09 was a great season because we qualified for Europe. Saying we finished eighth isn’t the same.”

Fulham’s fans were determined to enjoy their party, even if their side’s tired performance revealed the limitations of their small squad. Cashing in on Brede Hangeland seems the most plausible method of raising the funds to boost their squad size despite Hodgson’s reluctance to lose the Norway centre back.

Moyes also operates with limited numbers, as was shown by his decision to rest only Marouane Fellaini from his likely Cup Final lineup. Jack Rodwell performed admirably in his place, but Leon Osman stole the show, scoring his sixth and seventh goals of an excellent season at the end of each half as the visiting team strolled to victory.

Fulham can at least claim to have relatively recent experience of epic continental competition, because their last European adventure makes even the bloated Europa League look anorexic by comparison. In 2002 Jean Tigana’s side laboured through 14 matches just to be eliminated in the third round of the Uefa Cup by Hertha Berlin, with their reward for winning the Intertoto Cup little more than fatigue and injury. Their fans enjoyed the experience more than their players, which may also be the case next season because their first qualifying match will take place on July 30.

Fulham (4-4-2): M Schwarzer 6 J Paintsil 5 A Hughes 5 B Hangeland 5 P Konchesky 5 C Dempsey 6 D Etuhu 5 D Murphy 6 Z Gera 5 E Nevland 5 D Kamara 5 Substitutes: R Zamora 5 (for Nevland, 69min), O Dacourt (for Gera, 73), C Smalling (for Hughes, 77). Not used: P Zuberbühler, J Gray, F Stoor, C Baird.

Everton (4-2-3-1): T Howard 6 A Hibbert 6 J Yobo 5 J Lescott 6 L Baines 6 L Osman 7 P Neville 6 T Cahill 7 J Rodwell 6 S Pienaar 7 L Saha 6 Substitutes: D Gosling (for Neville, 76min), S Castillo (for Saha, 79), J Vaughan (for Pienaar, 85). Not used: C Nash, Jô, L Jacobsen, M Fellaini.

Referee M Riley Attendance 25,497

Players of the season

Fulham Brede Hangeland

One of Roy Hodgson’s first signings, the centre back was superb in the air but carried the ball out of defence calmly.

Everton Mikel Arteta

Accustomed to playing wide, he displayed brilliant passing and vision from central midfield before injury struck in February.