Head coach Slavisa Jokanovic has backed his Fulham side to be ready for the Championship playoffs after missing out on automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Fulham needed to better Cardiff City's result in order to achieve second spot in the standings, but a 3-1 setback to Birmingham City prevented the Cottagers from finishing above the Bluebirds.

Defeat for Fulham was their first in 24 second-tier fixtures, but Jokanovic predicts that his team will regain their focus ahead of the start of the playoffs.

The 49-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "I always believe we are going to win the next game. Because we lost one game, I am not going to change my mind.

"We showed quality. The character we showed many times - and we are going to be ready for the next game. We're disappointed, not because we're in the playoffs. We're disappointed because we lost a great chance to win the game.

"It's part of football and we must be ready for the challenge. We cannot be satisfied. It's simple. We didn't play well enough."

The first leg of the tie with Derby County takes place at Pride Park on Friday, May 11.