PIERRE-EMILE Hojbjerg believes Fulham are a different proposition now they’ve appointed Claudio Ranieri.

Saints travel to Craven Cottage for their first match after the international break on Saturday, 24 November.

Fulham are currently rooted to the bottom of the table, but by sacking Slavisa Jokanovic, the owners will be looking for an immediate reaction against Mark Hughes’ side.

Hojbjerg is expecting them to have an upturn in form with Ranieri coming in, but insists that it makes him even more motivated to get the win.

The Denmark international said: “It’s good for Fulham.

“They are going to have some fresh ideas and fresh minds, and a coach they want to prove themselves to.

“But it makes me more motivated for what is a huge game.

“I know we will be 100 percent ready. 

“Those games are nice. They are high-intensity, high nerves, and you learn a lot from that as a football player.”

Ranieri took the job at Fulham yesterday morning after they parted company with Jokanovic.

The Italian has managed Chelsea, but is more famous for leading Leicester to a miracle Premier League title in 2016.

He was sacked by The Foxes the following season and was replaced by ex-Saints manager Claude Puel, who was tasked with keeping the side up.

Speaking about the Fulham job, Ranieri said: “It is an honour to accept Mr. Khan’s invitation and opportunity to lead Fulham, a fantastic club with tradition and history.

“The objective at Fulham should never be to merely survive in the Premier League.

“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.”

Jokanovic is the first Premier League manager this season to lose his job after an awful start in which they’ve picked up just one win from their opening 12 matches.

Hughes has the same record at Saints, albeit with three more draws than the south London side.

Some Saints fans have been calling for Hughes to be replaced, but Hojbjerg is certain the Welshman is the right person to take the club forward.

Hojbjerg added: “We are behind the manager 100 percent. 

“I have to say we are working very good and very hard in the week, and the team is trying its best to give back what the manager is producing on the training field.

“It is not an easy moment now, but we are a good team. 

“We have said that a lot, at times too much, but we are a good team and we can get out of this situation.”

The midfielder also waded into the debate surrounding Charlie Austin’s comments after the 1-1 draw with Watford.

Austin’s VAR rant went viral after it appeared online with Blur’s song Parklife being played as a backing track to his post-match interview.

And although, Hojbjerg saw the comical side of the video, he believes the striker was right to speak out about the decision to rule out Saints’ goal.

“Charlie was raging and of course it can be a little bit funny,” Hojbjerg said.

“But I don’t think the whole situation is funny.

“What I can say about Charlie is I fully understand his emotion, and we spoke together as team-mates about what happened.

“Charlie’s interview shows that players do care. Believe me, we care a lot.

“It also shows that football is about emotions, and Charlie said what everyone saw.”