Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren was finally put out of his misery on Friday morning when he was sacked six days after his position became untenable.

The Magpies confirmed his departure after just nine months at 11.30am as they prepared to finalise a deal with former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez to replace him.

A club statement said: “After the defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, the club has spent some time considering its position and has today concluded that Steve McClaren’s employment with the club will end with immediate effect.

“We acknowledge that reaching this decision has taken a number of days and that this has caused uncertainty for everyone involved, in particular for Steve and the players, for which we apologise. However we felt that this time was necessary to ensure the right decisions were reached with the best interests of the club at heart.”

McClaren departed with the club lying in 19th place in the Barclays Premier League table, and with only 10 games remaining in which to spare themselves a second relegation in seven years.

He has spent the last six days waiting to learn his fate in the full knowledge that potential replacements were being sounded out, and it is understood that managing director Lee Charnley was due to meet Benitez face-to-face for the first time on Friday afternoon after encouraging talks between intermediaries and his camp.

In the meantime, Charnley paid tribute to a man whose days have been numbered since Saturday’s humbling 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth.

Charnley said: “I would like to thank Steve personally for his services to Newcastle United. He is a man of integrity and class and he has conducted himself with great dignity during this difficult time.

“Steve worked tirelessly to try and bring success to Newcastle United. He has the utmost respect of all the players, staff and management and he leaves with our very best wishes and sincere thanks.

“We feel that a change is now needed in order to give the club the best possible chance of securing its Premier League future.

“A further announcement on a successor to Steve will be made in due course.”

The five league defeats that cost him his job

Manchester City 6 Newcastle 1 (October 3rd)

Going into this match, Newcastle were still without a league win for the season to date and had suffered an embarrassing Capital One Cup exit at the hands of Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday. Further humiliation followed at the Etihad Stadium as City responded emphatically to falling behind early on to an Aleksandar Mitrovic goal. Sergio Aguero netted five times and Kevin de Bruyne also got on the scoresheet — with all the efforts coming between the 42nd and 62nd minutes.

Sunderland 3 Newcastle 0 (October 25th)

McClaren’s men bounced back from that thrashing by thumping Norwich 6-2 at home, but their next outing after that swiftly restored the gloom as they were beaten by their derby rivals for the sixth time in a row, and in comprehensive fashion. Captain Fabricio Coloccini was sent off having given away a penalty that was converted by Adam Johnson, and Billy Jones and Steven Fletcher subsequently wrapped things up for the Black Cats — managed by ex-Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce in charge.

Crystal Palace 5 Newcastle 1 (November 28th)

Newcastle again capitulated alarmingly after taking an early lead as they were humbled by a Palace side managed by another former Magpies boss, Alan Pardew. Papiss Cisse put the visitors ahead in the 10th minute, but by the 47th they were 4-1 down thanks to a Yannick Bolasie brace and efforts from Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur, who added another goal late on.

Chelsea 5 Newcastle 1 (February 13th)

This was a 5-1 loss Newcastle never had any kind of foothold in, with Diego Costa, Pedro and Willian putting Chelsea 3-0 up within 17 minutes of kick-off. Further goals from Pedro and Bertrand Traore followed for the hosts before Andros Townsend netted a late reply that provided little comfort for McClaren.

Newcastle 1 Bournemouth 3 (March 5th)

What proved McClaren’s last game in charge saw his team concede either side of the interval through a Steven Taylor own goal and a Josh King strike. Ayoze Perez reduced the deficit, but Charlie Daniels then made it 3-1 before Newcastle fans aimed a torrent of boos at the players and head coach at the final whistle.