Ola Aina is relishing the opportunity to prove a point against Chelsea on Saturday in the SW6 derby.

The defender, who came through the ranks at Stamford Bridge, has been a revelation since moving to centre back in Scott Parker’s new system and has been a big part of Fulham’s remarkable defensive improvement. He feels the confidence is growing within Fulham’s squad and told FFCTV that he believes the team can battle successfully against the drop this season:

I’m enjoying my football, and I’m happy to be playing and putting in some consistent performances and also help the team move forward in the league. I’m happy. It is a good feeling around the camp, it is good we’re not losing. Some good performances we have to build on, I feel like the wins are coming and if we can get a few more wins, we should be good.

Aina, who has made fifteen first-team appearances for Fulham since joining on loan from Torino, admitted that he will always have positive memories of his time in the blue half of SW6, but backs his new team-mates to spring a surprise tomorrow night.

I will always have fond memories of Chelsea, I came through their academy and managed to play a few games with the first-team. I enjoyed every minute of my time there and I have lifetime friends there too. London derbies are always something to relish. As for me, it will be a little bit spiced because I will be playing my old club with my old teammates.

I think they have been in fine form recently but we go into games to get the result. I feel the confidence from the manager and the coaching staff. Come Saturday, it is going to be the same feeling for me and the team. We have got players who are ready to go, that has been the story of our season so far and I think we will prove a point on Saturday.

The Nigerian international has also received fulsome praise from Parker ahead of Saturday night’s fixture.

Ola has great concentration and has shown real attention to detail. He needs rhythm and he maybe struggled a little bit with the intensity of training and what was asked of him when he first came in. I knew his quality when he was at Chelsea as a young player and I think everyone has seen that now.

He is an unbelievable defender. He’s done remarkably well. I wanted him to brush up on his detail in his work in terms of the care and the detail of his passing and body shape when he’s defending. I think he’s done that. He’s been very open minded, he’s always engaged and he’s always willing to listen and understand things. That’s a reflection on him and we’re seeing the rewards from that.