QPR HAVE confirmed that they have sacked manager Neil Warnock.

Rangers lie 17th in the Barclays Premier League table,  having won just five of their 20 top-flight games this  season in their first season back in the top flight.

Former Town boss Warnock, who led them to the  Championship title last season, has now been removed  from the post, with former Fulham boss Mark Hughes  strongly linked with the new vacancy at Loftus Road.

QPR chairman Tony Fernandes said: “This decision  has been made in the best interests of the club and I can  assure everyone that this is not a decision that was made  lightly.”

The club statement said: “Queens Park Rangers  Football Club has parted company with Manager Neil  Warnock.

“Warnock joined the club in March 2010, overseeing  84 matches in charge, winning 33, drawing 27 and losing  24.

“Last season, he successfully guided the club back to  the Premier League for the first time in 15 years.

“The board’s commitment to retaining our Premier  League status ultimately led to this decision. QPR  assistant manager Mick Jones and first-team coach Keith  Curle have also left the club.”

Fernandes, who took over the club in the summer,  added: “Sadly, our recent run of poor form has seen us  slip alarmingly down the table and the board felt it was  the right time to make a change.

“Neil has acted with honesty, professionalism and  integrity throughout his time at the club, and I would  personally like to thank him for his significant  contribution to QPR over the last 22 months.

“I genuinely wish him all the very best for the future  and he will always be welcome back at Loftus Road.”

Warnock, a firm favourite with Huddersfield fans  during his spell in charge between July 193 and the end of  the 1994-95 campaign,  insisted he leaves Loftus Road  with his head held high.

“Obviously I’m very disappointed, but having achieved  so much, I leave the club with a great sense of pride,” he  said.

“I have enjoyed my time here more than anywhere else  and the QPR fans have been brilliant with me – they  deserve success.

“My biggest regret is that the takeover didn’t happen  earlier, because that would have given me the opportunity  to bring in the targets I’d pinpointed all last summer and  probably given us a better chance to succeed in the  Premier League.

“The board at QPR are hugely ambitious and I wish  them every success for the future.

“I’ve been involved in the game a long time and I will  be spending the immediate future with my family and  friends before deciding my next career move.”