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Felix Magath's last game in charge at Fulham was a 5-3 defeat at Nottingham Forest

Former Fulham boss Felix Magath has admitted he told Brede Hangeland to treat a knee injury with cheese.

But the German, who was sacked by the Championship club last week, says the story has been distorted by the media.

Defender Hangeland claimed Magath told him to treat an injured thigh with a block of cheese soaked in alcohol.

"I merely suggested it could be worth trying the old wives' tale of applying quark cheese to the injured area," said Magath, 61.

"These false-stories from the player Hangeland are rubbish. I would never tell a doctor what to do.

"But sadly this story has now been taken on and distorted by the media."

Fulham's Championship struggles Aug 9: 1-2 v Ipswich (A) Aug 30: 1-1 v Cardiff (H) Aug 16: 0-1 v Millwall (H) Sep 13: 0-3 v Reading (A) Aug 20: 0-1 v Wolves (H) Sep 17: 3-5 v Forest (A) Aug 23: 1-5 v Derby (A) Sep 20: 0-1 v Blackburn (H)

Hangeland, 33, now at Crystal Palace, left Craven Cottage in June after being released by the club, but Match of the Day pundit and former Fulham skipper Danny Murphy confirmed the defender's story was true.

Describing Magath's suggestion of using cheese to treat an injury as "ridiculous", Murphy claimed the incident was indicative of the way the coach lost the faith of his experienced players.

However, Magath hit out at former Whites captain Hangeland over the story.

"It seems to me, that often players who are not performing on the pitch and are not in the spotlight, will make such ridiculous accusations," Magath said on his official Facebook page. external-link

"A world class player in the mould of Michael Ballack or Raul would never ever make such statements. Class speaks for itself."

Former West Germany midfielder Magath, who has also managed Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Schalke, also criticised English football for its perceived narrow-mindedness.

"I'm as convinced as ever that English football has something to learn from German qualities," he said. "Unfortunately they're reluctant to accept things."

Magath, appointed in February, was sacked on Thursday with Fulham bottom of the Championship, having taken just one point from their first seven games of the campaign.

Former Wales defender Kit Symons, 43, took over as caretaker boss but could not prevent Fulham slipping to a 1-0 home defeat against Blackburn on Saturday.