Fulham have sacked head coach Rene Meulensteen and appointed Felix Magath as first-team manager.
Former Manchester United coach Meulensteen was succeeded Martin Jol as first-team coach on December 1, but less than two months after his appointment the Dutchman has been relieved of his duties.
A statement released on the club’s website confirmed Magath had been installed as the club’s new first team manager, but there was no mention of Meulensteen’s future.
“Fulham Football Club today announced the hiring of Felix Magath as First Team Manager, effective immediately,” the statement read.
“Owner Shahid Khan said: “I am very happy to welcome Felix Magath to Fulham Football Club.
“Felix is an accomplished manager with multiple honours in the Bundesliga and a hunger to replicate his success with Fulham in the Barclays Premier League.
“I’m especially impressed with the reputation Felix has for coming into clubs at difficult times, often late in the season, and lifting them to their potential and beyond.”
“Alistair Mackintosh did a wonderful job during the January transfer window to improve our Club. This week, Alistair recommended Felix, with his history of producing results for Clubs with similar challenges as ours, as the new manager of Fulham. Alistair’s recommendation received my complete approval and Felix has my unequivocal support.
CEO Alistair Mackintosh added: “The opportunity to bring in a manager with the experience of Felix Magath would typically be unlikely at this point in the season. However, Felix relishes this challenge. He is very impressed with our squad and commitment by Mr. Khan, and his confidence is precisely what we need over these final three months of the season. I thank Mr. Khan for his support and we are all looking forward to welcoming Felix to Fulham.”
Meulensteen’s last game in charge was the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool at Craven Cottage on Wednesday and, while the club made no mention of him in their statement, he claims they have ‘hit the panic button’.
“They have hit the panic button on emotion and fear – but hey ho, that’s football,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I knew the owners were freaking out a little bit that there was the possibility of the club going down.
“The way forward that we have discussed with the club was about longevity and in this case it is clearly an act of fear.
“I have not had a lot of time and people who came to the Manchester United and Liverpool games could see what I was trying to put in place.
“I couldn’t care less what they put in the statement, to be honest.”
