'Felix Magath made things worse at Fulham and I expect decline to continue' - Brede Hangeland slams former boss

Former Fulham defender Brede Hangeland has hit out at Cottagers boss Felix Magath after the club dropped out of the Premier League, ending a 13-year stay in the top flight.

The 33-year-old said the club has been in decline ‘for a few years now’ and expects the trend to continue under Magath next season.

The Fulham boss took the reins in February tasked with staving off the looming threat of relegation, but Hangeland believes the German only helped in contributing to the club’s eventual .

"He is very difficult to work with. He has a reputation of being a very strict manager, which he is,” said Hangeland on Sky Sports News.

"I think his main tool is to try and mentally and physically batter his players and then hopefully get some results out of that.

“Is that a right fit for English football? I don’t think so personally, I thought rather than help us try and avoid relegation, I think he made things worse and harder for us.

“I hope I’m wrong because I really love the club, but in a word no, I don’t think he is the right man.

“I think things will get worse before they get better and I really think that what’s happening now at the top of Fulham is very disconnected, and very far from the Fulham that I know and from the Fulham fans.”

Premier League new boys QPR remain favourites to sign Hangeland, who made 217 Premier League appearances during his time with Fulham before ties were ‘harshly’ severed.

“After relegation the manager asked me if I wanted to play in the Championship with Fulham," he said.

“And I said I’m going to be really honest, this club has been on the decline for a few years now and I need to know that we are going to move in the right direction.

“So we left it there and two weeks later they called my agent and told me they wanted to do a press release saying that I am no longer with Fulham, which I then said I don’t agree with that so I can’t be part of that.

“Then the next day after that, I received an email with them basically cancelling the contract. So I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I think about it really. After six and a half years, I thought that was harsh.”