Claudio Ranieri believes Fulham are capable of more than Premier League survival.

Fulham sacked Slavisia Jokanovic on Wednesday and replaced the Serbian with former Chelsea and Leicester City manager Ranieri.

Speaking after his appointment was confirmed Ranieri told the official Fulham website: "The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League. We must at all times be a difficult opponent and should expect to succeed.

"This Fulham squad has exceptional talent that is contrary to its position in the table. I know this team is very capable of better performances, which we will work on straight away as we prepare for Southampton at the Cottage."

After leaving Leicester in 2017, Ranieri went on to manage Nantes in Ligue 1 before leaving his post at the end of last season.