Football
ESPN staff 10y

Fulham sack Felix Magath, name Kit Symons caretaker manager

Fulham have confirmed the departure of manager Felix Magath, with owner Shahid Khan installing under-21 coach Kit Symons as caretaker manager of the struggling Championship club.

- Jolly: Magath philosophy behind Fulham's Championship struggles

Magath, 61, declared himself "disappointed and surprised" to have been replaced. He took over at the Cottagers in February as the west London club looked to secure their Premier League future, but the veteran coach could not prevent the club from being relegated.

Fulham are currently bottom of the Championship with just one point from their opening seven games of the 2014-15 campaign, and following a 5-3 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, the club have sacked the German coach.

Magath, speaking in a statement via German news agency DPA, said: "I am disappointed and surprised, because I am sure that I would have stopped the downfall of the club with drastic changes in the squad to a young team, although the first results of the season have not shown this."

A statement released on the club's official website on Thursday read: "Fulham chairman Shahid Khan today named Kit Symons as caretaker manager of Fulham football club and will personally and immediately lead a thorough search for the new first-team manager of the club.

"Symons, the under-21s Manager at Fulham, replaces Felix Magath. Mr Khan today thanked Mr Magath for his efforts through the final three months of last season in the Premier League and the first seven matches this season in the Championship."

Khan had suggested at the end of August that Magath was the "ideal man" to turn the cub's fortunes around after a disappointing start to the campaign, but has now moved to arrest their swift decline.

"This is an unfortunate but necessary change," Khan said. "I am doing what I feel is right and needed for Fulham football club, for today as well as tomorrow.

"I thank our supporters for standing by us during these most difficult of times on the pitch, and promise better days ahead."

Magath has taken charge of a host of German clubs in a 19-year coaching career, including Hamburg, Nurnberg, Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg (twice) and Schalke.

The 61-year-old's managerial methods came under fire from former players with ex-skipper Brede Hangeland, who was released in the summer, claiming he had actually "made things worse" after taking over.

Fulham overhauled their squad in the summer, also releasing long-serving players like Steve Sidwell and Damien Duff, but they did spend a reported 11 million pounds to bring striker Ross McCormack in from Leeds.

However, a largely youthful side built around captain Scott Parker have looked out of their depth so far this term. Magath was in charge for 20 matches in total and his side won just four of them, the last victory coming against Norwich in April.

Symons will oversee Saturday's visit of Blackburn, and is among the names being linked with the now vacant role along with Steve Clarke and Chris Hughton.

Former Cottagers captain Danny Murphy also revealed his interest in returning to the London club to help get the team out of its current "mess."

The 37-year-old, now a BBC TV pundit, told BBC Radio Five Live: "I've always said I'd like to go back to Fulham at some point because I've got a great affinity for the club.

"As of now I've not spoken to anybody at the club regarding asking me to go and do anything at the club, which is fine -- it's not something I'm expecting. But if they did want to speak to me, of course I'd be open-minded to that.

"I would never disregard something like that because ultimately that's what I want to do -- get involved in football in a coaching and managing role.

"But for now, I suppose it's first and foremost finding the candidates who can get Fulham out of this mess. If people in the hierarchy at the club think that's somebody with much more experience than somebody like me, then that's fine.

"My priority and my desire is to see them not at the bottom of the Championship."

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