Rangers lie 17th in the table, just one point and one place clear of the bottom three, having won just five of their 20 top-flight games this season in their first campaign back in the top flight since 1996.

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.

A club statement said on qpr.co.uk: "Queens Park Rangers Football Club has today parted company with manager Neil Warnock.

"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."

Chairman Tony Fernandes, who took over in the summer, 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.

"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 insists 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."

The club statement revealed a further announcement on the recruitment of Warnock's successor will be made "in due course".

Chief executive Philip Beard acknowledged they are under pressure to make an appointment to enable them to reinforce their squad this month.

"We're going to be criticised whatever we do, like everybody else in football," he said on Sky Sports News. "We just believe this is the right decision at this time.

"I'm not going to comment (on candidates) tonight but what I will say is that we're going to move as quickly as we can and we hope to make an appointment very soon.

"We've got some people at the club that can help us in the very, very, very short term but we plan to move very quickly and get things sorted.

"Time is against everybody and we're already into the second week of January. I think the reality is there are some funds there but we've got to make the right purchases.

"It is a tricky month to try and make things happen but our appetite is to bring one or two players in if we can to strengthen the squad and the new manager will be part of that as soon as we can identify him and spend time looking at some of our targets."

Prolific Twitter user Fernandes told fans the decision "was not knee-jerk", adding: "Trust me in my 47 years of life I have never had to make such a tough decision. But I got to do what I think what's right.

"Its tough being a leader. But decisions have to be made for the club which in the short time I have grown to love ever so much."