Fulham relegated in crushing fashion

Fulham’s 14-year stay in the Premier League came to an end in crushing fashion at the Britannia Stadium but manager Felix Magath is adamant he is the right man to lead the Cottagers back into the top flight.

Magath’s future will inevitably come under close scrutiny after a 4-1 defeat to Stoke which confirmed the 60-year-old had failed in his mission to avoid the drop and in the process experienced the first relegation of his own storied nine-club career.

Magath made no excuses for the feeble manner of his side’s demise, with goals from Peter Odemwingie, Marko Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Jonathan Walters serving Stoke up the simplest of wins, with a late Kieran Richardson effort offering scant consolation.

Damning verdict
But defiant Magath insisted: "I don't think to do anything else except stay at Fulham and build up a new team

. . . It is clear we have to change something . . . I will talk about the situation with the owner and we will start to come back.”

Magath was damning in his verdict of his side’s performance, accusing his players of lacking fighting spirit and being overwhelmed with nerves on such a big occasion.

“You saw no fighting spirit and therefore I think they felt too much pressure,” added Magath.

Stoke in contrast were brimming with purpose from the first minute and delighted boss Mark Hughes with a performance which equals their previous best top-flight record of 47 points with one game to go.

With a successful end to his own side’s season assured, Hughes will now turn his attention to securing the future of on-loan winger Assaidi, with talks having already begun with his parent club Liverpool.

Hughes said: “It’s important that we accept that he’s not our player, he’s Liverpool’s player, but he’s done really well for us and we’re very pleased with what he’s produced.”