The Finland international defender made just five appearances last season but played his part in the club's best-ever finish of seventh in the Barclays Premier League.

Victories over Arsenal and Manchester United plus away draws against Liverpool and Aston Villa proved Fulham could mix it with the best in the league and Kallio put it down to the squad's character.

"Those results, plus the draw at the Emirates not only show how far this team has come but shows that this is a team not to be taken lightly," said Kallio.

"Perhaps in the past the top teams had expected to take points against Fulham, but last season we changed that. We beat some very good teams, and also went away and held the likes of Liverpool and Villa.

"With a couple of minutes left at home to Chelsea we were 2-1 down and then Clint [Dempsey] popped up and scored a late equaliser. All these games show just how much character we have to react to the situation.

"The team-spirit at the club is fantastic and that has helped. It's one of the main reasons why we had such a great season - team-spirit and character go a long way in football. I think it will be the same next season, because it's something that we've worked very hard on."

Kallio joined the Whites permanently last summer after a six-month loan spell from Young Boys.

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