Schalke sack coach Felix Magath

Bundesliga club Schalke have confirmed the departure of head coach Felix Magath with immediate effect.

Magath was due to find out his fate in a meeting with Schalke's management on Wednesday and his reign at the Veltins-Arena has now been brought to an end less than two years after his appointment.

"Schalke have very good reasons to part company with Felix Magath," chairman Clemens Tonnies told the club's official website after a meeting of the club's supervisory board at an extraordinary session.

"We will not communicate these reasons as a legal battle now awaits us. We're very disappointed about the departure of Felix, but we feel this is the best solution for Schalke."

Tonnies later elaborated and said Magath had lost the confidence of the Schalke dressing room.

He told a press conference: "Shortly after (meeting with the team committee) I sought a private meeting with Felix Magath. This was very forceful. He listened to what I had to say but did not talk much. My feedback to the team was: I have spoken to the coach, I hope the issue has now been sorted.

"Then I had another meeting with the team committee. It stressed that the situation had got worse and worse. I then had another conversation with Magath. It was quite an argument between the two of us. I told him: 'Schalke does not function like this, you have to reach out to the people and take them with you. You are losing this team, at least mentally'.''

It has transpired that Magath refused to attend Wednesday's meeting as he did not feel he had been given sufficient notice.

"Mr Magath won't attend Wednesday's board meeting as he feels participating doesn't make any sense," a statement from Magath's lawyer Ralf Hoecker said. "Mr Magath only received a minimal and incomplete agenda of the meeting on Tuesday. He needs to be well prepared if he is to debate about important subjects."

Schalke currently occupy tenth place in the Bundesliga table after a difficult season on the domestic front, but they did qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals last week with a win over Valencia.

Magath, who twice won the Double with Bayern Munich, joined Schalke after winning the title with Wolfsburg in the 2008-09 campaign and finished second to Bayern last season.