Aron Davies hasn't worked with Claudio Ranieri for long but hopefully the Italian manager's magic has rubbed off on Maidstone's new signing.

Defender Davies has joined United on loan from Fulham for the rest of the season, making his debut in the FA Trophy draw at Salford on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old had been training with the first-team squad before making the move and says Ranieri, who won the Premier League with Leicester, is a "great fella".

Davies said: "He's a good coach. He's shown it with Leicester. He knows what he's doing so hopefully he's the man to get them out of the relegation battle.

"He's a top man. I can't fault him, the way he is with everyone from the first-team boys down to the academy. He's a great fella.

"It's a great set-up there with the academy, and you see the players they bring through but I felt it was the right time to come out and get experience.

"I can't thank Fulham enough for how much they've made me progress in the last four years.

"Before Christmas I was training with the first team quite a lot but obviously they're trying to get the wins to get out of trouble but hopefully I'll do well here and you never know next season.

"It's just all down to me to take my chance.

"It's my first loan so I'm just looking to get into the real world of football, playing against men week in, week out and just test myself."

Davies joined Fulham from Bristol City, earning Wales under-20 recognition and captaining the Cottagers' under-23 side.

He's played against Oxford, Wycombe and Northampton in the Checkatrade Trophy this season but knows regular football with Maidstone is what he needs.

A frozen pitch at Salford on Saturday delayed his debut but he impressed in the rearranged game.

He said: "As soon as I signed I was just itching to get out there.

"I was gutted the game was called off on Saturday as I was just looking forward to playing.

"It was good to get out there on Tuesday, it was a solid team performance, I thought we dug in for the whole 90 minutes and were unlucky not to win the game."

Davies is set to make his home bow when Maidstone face AFC Fylde at the Gallagher this Saturday.

It's a big game with United needing points for survival while the Coasters are going for promotion.

Davies said: "I'm looking forward to my first home game.

"I've always known Maidstone are a big club so when there was a chance to come down I just snapped at it and couldn't wait to get started.

"The stuff we've worked on in training came out against Salford and hopefully it will again and we can get ourselves out of the situation we're in."