Oli McBurnie has declared it was "written for me" to score the goal that sent Hull City back to the Premier League, netting a 95th-minute winner at Wembley to seal a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.

The 29-year-old striker, who joined Hull from La Liga side Las Palmas last summer, bundled home the decisive moment that ended the Tigers' nine-year absence from the top flight under manager Sergej Jakirovic.

"For the first time ever, I think I'm speechless! It's been a long, hard season and that game today summed us up. We knew we weren't going to come in and have all of the ball — I don't think we've won a game this year when we've had more of the ball than the opposition!"

McBurnie was candid about the difficulty of the encounter, acknowledging that Middlesbrough pushed Hull hard throughout in sweltering conditions. Yet his belief that the moment was destined never wavered.

"It was tough out there with the heat and Middlesbrough are a top, top team. We knew we were going to be right up against it, but we felt we'd have one chance and it was written for me to get it."

The striker, who finished the season with 19 goals across all competitions, reflected on a personal journey that stretches back to an earlier, less settled chapter of his career. "When I first got my move to Sheffield United, it was what they expected of me and I probably wasn't really ready to be that person," he said. "As I've grown and got older and more mature, I think I've grown into that role."

McBurnie also paid tribute to the collective spirit inside Hull's dressing room, crediting the character of his teammates as the defining factor in a season that defied expectations. "I knew I was going into a dressing room with winners. If you surround yourself with enough winners, you are going to win," he said.

Coyle's emotional tribute to his late father

Hull captain Lewie Coyle delivered one of the day's most moving moments when he dedicated the promotion to his late father. "There's just one man I want to celebrate this with. He's not with us," an emotional Coyle told Sky Sports. "I look up at the sky and I had a look up there today. He's with me, I know he's with me, for sure."

Coyle reflected on the improbability of his achievement, captaining a side to the Premier League from a position of near-obscurity. "I don't think there's many people that thought I could captain a side to the Premier League — and even saying that out loud sounds a little bit wild," he said. "But there's certainly one man that would have believed in me and that's my old man."

A season that defied the data

Hull's promotion is extraordinary even by Championship standards. Twelve months ago, the club survived relegation on goal difference. This season, they became the first sixth-placed side to win promotion since 2010.

The underlying numbers make the achievement even more remarkable. According to expected goals data, Hull should have finished second-bottom of the Championship this term — picking up 13 fewer points than they actually did and conceding approximately 16 more goals than they managed.

In reality, the Tigers conceded 66 goals during the regular season, seven more than relegated Oxford United. Only three teams in the lower half of the table gave away more. Yet Hull also posted the best shot conversion rate in the entire division.

Much of that clinical edge came from McBurnie and fellow striker Joe Gelhardt, who scored 17 and 14 league goals respectively. The pair ranked first and second in the Championship for shots on target — despite taking fewer shots than other forwards who placed in the same top-10 category. It was an efficiency that ultimately carried Hull all the way to Wembley, and into the Premier League.