have sacked yet another manager as Slaven Bilic is dismissed from the Championship club, with Chris Wilder immediately replacing him and becoming the Hornets’ 18th manager in the last decade.
Bilic has overseen a poor run of form, with Watford winning just one of their last eight Championship matches and slipping to ninth in the table.
They are only four points outside of the play-off places so the season was not at all over for them, but that is the justification the club has given for ousting the Croatian boss.
A statement from Technical Director Ben Manga on Tuesday afternoon read: ‘We are all ambitious to succeed this season, so something new is needed quickly while the opportunity of promotion is still real.
‘With the January transfer window over, to change coach is the only option available to re-energise for the final games ahead.’
The same afternoon, a club statement read: ‘The Hornets are pleased to confirm the appointment of Chris Wilder as Head Coach on a contract until the end of this season.’
Wilder was in charge of Middlesbrough at the start of the season but poor results cost him his job in October, but he now returns and hopes to win promotion to the Premier League as he did with Sheffield United in 2019.
The remarkable turnover of managers at Watford has become commonplace over many years, with the last decade being especially chaotic.
Wilder is the 18th permanent manager at the club dating back to Gianfranco Zola’s reign, with the Italian in charge 10 years ago.
The Hornets have now had three managers this season alone, with Rob Edwards beginning the campaign in charge before being replaced by Bilic in September.
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