Norwich are fourth from bottom of the Premier League after Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to West Brom.

They are five points above third-bottom Fulham who they meet next weekend. After that, Norwich have by far the toughest run-in of all the relegation candidates as they face Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Canaries have been in the lower reaches of the table for most of the season, with a lack of goals their main problem.

Their tally of 26 in 33 games is only better than Crystal Palace. Last summer, Hughton spent a reported £8.5million to sign Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon and £5million to bring Gary Hooper from Celtic, while also adding Johan Elmander on loan - but none of the moves have paid off.

Hughton's assistants Colin Calderwood and Paul Trollope have also been dismissed.

A statement on the club's official website read: "The Norwich City board has taken the decision to give the club the maximum chance to secure the points required between now and the end of the season to ensure retention of our Barclays Premier League status.

"Neil Adams, 48, steps up from his current role as our Under-18s coach with a wealth of experience as a player, having won a league title with Everton in 1987 and made 206 appearances in all competitions as a stalwart wide player for Norwich City between 1993 and 1999.

Nick Collins discusses Norwich's decision to sack Chris Hughton as manager of the club.

"He moved into the club's youth coaching set-up and last year guided the young Canaries to their first FA Youth Cup triumph in 30 years, courtesy of a shock victory over Chelsea in the final, in which his side won both legs.

"Meanwhile, the club would like to place on record it's sincere thanks to Chris Hughton, Colin Calderwood and Paul Trollope for all of their hard work on behalf of the club since they took over in June 2012.

"Chris's achievement in guiding City to an 11th-place finish in the Premier League last season was an excellent one and he has represented the club with dignity throughout his tenure.

"However, the recent run of four defeats in our last six Premier League games and six consecutive away league defeats, left the club with no choice but to act, with five games still to play in the current campaign.

"Neil is a progressive and successful coach who has served this club as a player and a member of our coaching staff in exemplary fashion over two decades. With our fantastic fans getting behind Neil and the team in the games ahead we will greatly improve our chances of a successful end to the current campaign."

Adams, a title winner with Everton in 1987, spent six years as a player at Carrow Road and joined the Norwich coaching staff after finishing his playing career at Oldham.

He said: "To say that I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity of managing Norwich City Football Club would be a massive understatement.

Norwich boss Chris Hughton says his side did not do enough with the ball as they lost 1-0 to West Brom.

"People know what this club means to me, and so it goes without saying that we will be doing everything possible to ensure that we maintain our top-flight status for next season.

"These final five games will be a huge test for us, and everyone must step up to the mark. But with the full backing of these magnificent Norwich supporters we will have every chance of achieving our objective."

Hughton took over from Paul Lambert in June 2012, and finished a creditable eleventh in his first season.

Norwich will hold a press conference on Monday.