Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham look doomed after this demoralising defeat – and the Italian was left shrugging off questions about his own future.

Southampton goals from Oriol Romeu, his first since November 2017, and James Ward-Prowse eased the Saints above Cardiff and out of the relegation places. Premier League

Wednesday's defeat leaves the hapless and frail Cottagers 10 points from safety and staring down the barrel of an instant return to the Championship.

For Fulham , whose next three home matches are against Chelsea , Liverpool and Manchester City , the game looks up. They have lost eight of nine, with one away point from eight games.

The travelling fans furiously booed boss Ranieri — a title winner with Leicester less than three years ago — as he replaced Tom Cairney with Luciano Vietto after 69 minutes amid chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’.

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The wait for a win on the road anywhere this season goes on.

The wait for the drop may be a lot shorter.

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There was a resigned look about dejected Fulham players applauding the travelling fans at the final whistle.

And after losing what looked a ‘must-win’ game, Ranieri said: “I don’t know if my job is safe — ask the owner. I haven’t spoken to him. It could be I speak to Tony Khan tomorrow.

“We get punished every time, it has happened all season and it affects the confidence. I know it is very difficult now but I am used to working hard and until it is mathematically impossible, we try.

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“I think the players are reacting to my methods, you must ask them. You have to believe and fight, if not already it is lost and you are done. But the disappointment is very high tonight.”

Saints took the lead after 23 minutes. Ryan Bertrand won a corner after whipping in a left-wing cross from the right. Bertrand’s set-piece was only punched out by Rico as far as Spaniard Romeu – who drove it into the net through a crowd of bodies.

The home side doubled their lead before the break when Nathan Redmond’s fierce drive was only parried by Sergio Rico and Ward-Prowse won the race for the rebound.

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Ryan Babel hit the bar late on as Fulham desperately tried to recover.

A delighted Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “It was a very important win for the whole club. We are out of the relegation zone now - but it was only the first step.

“We are one of five or six teams fighting to avoid one spot. It’s the first clean sheet in a long time and we showed we can play without mistakes.

“We play against Manchester United and Tottenham next, maybe today was the easiest game for three points.”