QPR sack Neil Warnock

Warnock leaves the club after only 18 months in charge despite leading QPR to promotion into the EPL [GALLO/GETTY]

Queens Park Rangers fired manager Neil Warnock on Sunday, with the club admitting they feared for their English Premier League future.

The 63-year-old Warnock led QPR back into the topflight after a 15-year absence last season but the team have lost six of their last eight league matches and slid to 17th in the standings, one point above the relegation zone.

Announcing Warnock’s departure, QPR said: “The board’s commitment to retaining our Premier League status ultimately led to this decision.”

Warnock’s last match in charge saw the west London club held to a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup on Saturday by MK Dons of the third tier.

Change needed

“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,” said chairman Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian businessman whose Tune Group bought the club in August.

“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.”

Warnock had been in charge at the London club for just under two years after previous stints at Crystal Palace and Sheffield United, winning 33 of his 84 matches.

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

Assistant manager Mick Jones first team coach Keith Curle have also left the club.

“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,” Warnock said.