Watford sack Claudio Ranieri after just 3 months of appointment

Premier League team Watford FC has sacked their manager Claudio Ranieri after just three months of appointing him as head coach in October. The former premier league winning manager failed to get a change in the football club’s fortunes as they slipped into the bottom 3 i.e., the relegation zone of the league. Their recent defeat to Norwich City meant that Watford has lost seven of their last 8 matches under Ranieri. With a total of 22 games already been played, the hornets have a difficult task ahead of them if they want to stay in the top tier of English football.

The club has also posted their official statement about Ranieri’s departure and stated “The Hornets’ board recognizes Claudio as a man of great integrity and honor, who will always be respected here at Vicarage Road for his efforts in leading the team with dignity. However, the board feels that, with nearly half of the Premier League campaign remaining, a change in the head coach position now will give a new appointment sufficient time to work with a talented squad to achieve the immediate goal of retaining Premier League status.

“No further club comment will be made until this new appointment is confirmed in due course.”

The club had earlier appointed Ranieri after sacking the man who helped in the club’s promotion to the Premier League Xisco Munoz. He was also in charge of the club’s first seven league fixtures after which he was relieved of his duties at the club. Ranieri’s stint at the club only saw him getting 2 victories against Everton and Manchester United as he ended up with 11 losses out of the 14 matches he was in charge. Ranieri’s departure means Watford has now sacked five head coaches since the exit of Javi Gracia in September 2019. Quique Sanchez Flores, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Munoz, and Ranieri have all left the club during that 28-month period, while Hayden Mullins has also had two spells as caretaker in that time.

However, the departure of Ranieri has probably come at the right time for the board to decide on the next manager of the club as their next fixture comes after a little break on Saturday, February 5. According to some of the reports, Roy Hodgson is seen as the next managerial appointment for Watford FC and will have a mammoth task ahead of him in order to ensure safety for the club.