Felix Magath was sacked as Fulham manager on Thursday after a miserable eight-month spell in charge of the west London club.

Magath took charge at Craven Cottage in February as Fulham owner Shahid Khan looked to halt the team's slide towards relegation from the Premier League.

But the German, who arrived with a reputation as a hard taskmaster, was unable to keep Fulham in the English top-flight after reportedly losing the confidence of several members of the squad with his disciplinarian approach.

Magath, a former Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Schalke boss, was given the chance to make amends by leading Fulham to promotion in their first season outside the Premier League in 13 years.

But instead the winless Cottagers have endured a miserable time in the Championship, losing six of their seven matches to slump to the bottom of the table.

The fatal blow to Magath's hopes of saving his job was delivered by Nottingham Forest on Wednesday as the second tier leaders recovered from 3-2 down with 13 minutes remaining to win 5-3 at the City Ground.

The dismal defeat, labelled a 'catastrophe' by Magath, triggered calls from angry Fulham fans for the 61-year-old to be sacked and they got their wish less than 24 hours later.

Kit Symons, a former Fulham and Wales defender, will take over from Magath on a caretaker basis, starting with Saturday's match against Blackburn, while Khan's search for a permanent boss gets underway.

"This is an unfortunate but necessary change," Khan said in a statement on Fulham's website.

"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."