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Struggling Spanish champions Real Madrid fired coach Bernd Schuster on Tuesday and immediately replaced him with former Tottenham and Sevilla coach Juande Ramos.

Real sports director Pedja Mijatovic said he had held a meeting earlier in the day with Schuster, who had "accepted" the decision but "was sad to do so".

"We analyzed everything that has happened in recent months. We saw the difficulties and reached this decision by mutual agreement," Mijatovic told a news conference.

German Schuster, one of a rare breed of footballers who have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, was under contract with Real till 2010.

Ramos, 54, has been given an initial six-month deal which will keep him at the Spanish giants until the end of the season.

"This is the dream of every

coach, I hope I don't disappoint anybody. I don't think there is any higher level than arriving at Real Madrid," he told a news conference.

Schuster's head was placed firmly on the block on Sunday when Real slipped to a humiliating 4-3 home defeat to Sevilla, a result that left them languishing in fifth place in the league, nine points behind leaders Barcelona.

The 49-year-old led Real to their record 31st league title last season, his first in charge, but has been under pressure as early as November following the club's elimination from the King's Cup by third division Real Union.

But it appears the final nail in the coffin was Schuster's remarks to the Spanish press over the weekend, when he said his injury-riddled side had no chance during Saturday's game in the Nou Camp against arch rivals Barcelona.

"At the Camp Nou now, it's not possible to win. They are playing really well there and it's their year," he said after the match against Sevilla.

Mijatovic denied that Schuster's comments had been a deciding factor in his departure as reported by the Spanish media while Ramos stressed the need to always seek victory during their joint news conference.

"Madrid is a team that whichever game it has to play it will go in with maximum motivation to play it. Barcelona is playing really well but Madrid is playing well enough to not renounce a victory in any stadium in the world," Ramos said.

Ramos guided Tottenham to the League Cup last season but was sacked by the English side in October following the London club's worst start to the season which left the team at the bottom of the Premier League.

But he enjoys a healthy reputation in Spain based on his successes with Sevilla which included two UEFA Cup wins in 2006 and 2007.

Schuster joined Madrid from Getafe last July, replacing current England coach Fabio Capello who was also sacked by the Spanish giants.