Fulham have announced that Martin Jol has been sacked as manager.

The departure of Jol from Craven Cottage was announced this morning after the Cottagers lost 3-0 to West Ham United yesterday, which was Fulham’s sixth defeat in a row and now sees the club sitting in the bottom three.

Fulham owner Shahid Khan has promoted Rene Meulensteen to the role as first team coach/manager. Meulensteen was appointed as Head Coach of Fulham Football Club on the 13th of November after working at Manchester United, where he worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford between 2007 and last summer.

In a club statement, Khan said:

“Today I spoke with Martin to thank him for his efforts on behalf of Fulham Football Club over the past three seasons and, in particular, since my becoming Chairman earlier this year. Martin was very gracious and I appreciate his understanding of the situation. There is no question Martin is an excellent football man and he has my utmost respect for the commitment he made to our Club.

“However, our poor form and results this season are undeniable, and Fulham supporters deserve better. With more than half the season still ahead, an immediate change was necessary.

“Rene Meulensteen was brought to Fulham to assist Martin and today was offered the challenge and opportunity to step in for Martin. I thank Rene for accepting and now we move forward. I have great confidence in Rene and high expectations for our squad to respond.”

Fulham’s next match is against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

Jol joined Fulham as manager in June 2011 after Mark Hughes left the post. In his first season with Fulhan, the club finished in ninth position, which was followed by a twelfth place finish last season. However, in the past month, the club have failed to win a match. The last win was against Crystal Palace on October 21 on a memorable night for Fulham fans. Unfortunately, the subsequent positive signs for Fulham during the past four weeks have been few and far between.

After yesterday’s loss, Jol had this to say regarding whether he would still be manager this week:

“It’s not in my hands.

“I have to worry, I was worried a couple of months ago. It’s not from one day to the other, it’s the last few months that we’ve been inconsistent. I’ve got [more than 650] games under my belt as a manager and I know three points can give you a totally different view. That is why we’re in the bottom three. If we’d beaten West Ham they would be in the same situation.”

Even Martin Jol saw the writing on the wall.