Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri revealed he told Tom Cairney that he wants to see his skipper score more goals before the 3-2 victory over Southampton.

The Italian played his skipper in a more advanced role than we’ve seen Cairney play in under Slavisa Jokanovic, with the 27-year-old playing just off Aleksandar Mitrovic.

That meant that he didn’t need to worry about the defensive side of the game, while he was able to exploit the Southampton defence further up the pitch and have more chances to get shots off at goal.

Cairney scored six goals for Fulham last season, including the one that got the side promoted at Wembley in the Championship play-off final, but the season before that he bagged 13 that included some stunning long range efforts.

And after a strong performance in the 3-2 victory on Saturday, Ranieri revealed he wants his skipper to score more goals but that he was pleased with how he did in his new role.

He said: “He [Cairney] is a fantastic player and a free man, his left foot is amazing and he can do everything.

“With him, I want to score goals like he did in the Championship, because he is a goalscorer.

“He has to assist or shoot at goal I said before the match and I am very pleased, well done.”