Since then, the former Aston Villa man has enjoyed success beyond his wildest dreams but for his pals at Craven Cottage it has been a relegation dog-fight for most of the season.

Roy Hodgson's men face Portsmouth tomorrow knowing they only have to match Reading and Birmingham's results to pull off their own version of the Great Escape.

At Christmas, the Cottagers looked doomed but a recent upturn in fortunes has left them in pole pole position.

Pompey will have the small matter of next week's FA Cup final to occupy their minds and that could leave Fulham in the perfect position to take advantage.

Midfield maestro Davis has taken time out from the preparations for the biggest game of his career — the UEFA Cup final against Zenit St. Petersburg — to wish his parent club well in their battle to avoid the drop.

"Fulham are a fantastic club and when I was there, we always believed we could get ourselves out of the bottom three," said Davis.

"Obviously I am a little bit away from things at the minute at Rangers but I still care about what happens at Fulham.

"I am their player and with so many of my friends like David Healy, Aaron Hughes and Chris Baird playing there, I am desperate for them to stay in the top flight. They've got themselves in a great position now where their survival hopes are in their own hands and I will be rooting for them.

"Unfortunately I won't be able to be at the game because Rangers will be training before travelling down to Manchester, but I'll be glued to Sky Sports to see how the boys do."

While Davis will be unable to have any influence on Fulham's Premier League D-Day, the Cullybackey man certainly knows a man that can make the difference.

Northern Ireland record goal-scorer, Healy, is struggled to nail down a reguilar place in Hodgson's side since he took over from Lawrie Sanchez but Davis is confident his international team-mate can still be the man to save them.

Davis said: "There are few people better than getting important goals than David Healy.

"I'm sure if he gets a chance he will put it away and that could keep Fulham up.

"It's been a difficult season for all the Northern Ireland boys at Fulham and only Aaron Hughes is playing every week at the minute, but hopefully it will all end well."