‘Sad’ Magath apologises to Fulham fans

Fulham boss Felix Magath blasted his side’s lack of fight and apologised to supporters after the club’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.

The Whites were sent hurtling into the Championship after a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Stoke, managed by ex-Fulham boss Mark Hughes.

Magath, who took the helm at Craven Cottage in February, was the club’s third manager this season after both Martin Jol and Rene Meulensteen carried the can for poor results.

The ex-Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg chief admitted the humbling at Stoke was the worst performance of his 11-match reign.

He said: “I’ve never been relegated until today. I feel very sad.

“I have to apologise for not managing the situation. The club asked me to come – I tried. At the end it was better than before but not good enough.

“There was no reason for that performance – it’s the worst game since I’ve been here.

“I didn’t expect it. We were fighting against relegation. I told the team today was a great chance, but we never took the chance.

“The thing is you can never say any player would like to see relegation, but they didn’t fight enough.”

However, Magath hinted he wants to stay at Craven Cottage and use the club’s successful youth team to reinvigorate the senior squad over the summer.

He added: “I like it at Fulham and the English way of playing football. I want to build a new team – that was the idea when I came here.”

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