By Paul Brown

Martin O'Neill has been impressed with Fulham's rise from relegation candidates to European hopefuls.

O'Neill believes the confidence Fulham gained from their 'Great Escape' has boosted them as they go in search of Europa League qualification this season.

He told AVTV: "They have improved a lot this time around. It's been terrific for them this season and the manager has done wonderfully well there.

"They are going for a European spot - and that's all you need to say really to see how far they have come.

"They were all but gone last season. You couldn't have envisaged that kind of comeback - it was absolutely incredible.

"It started at Manchester City - they were a couple of goals down and ended up winning the game. Even then, it still felt like a case of too little, too late. But for them to eventually stay in the division was unbelievable stuff.

"They will have taken great heart from that. They have made a couple of good signings too. They have done fantastically well - well played to them. It just goes to show how quickly things can change in football."