Chris Wilder opens up on Watford future amid Francesco Farioli rumours | OneFootball

Watford head coach Chris Wilder insists he has been unaffected by speculation over his future amid reports he will be replaced at the end of the season.

Rumours had gathered pace this week that Wilder will be departing Vicarage Road in the summer, with a report from Foot Mercato claiming the club had identified 34-year-old coach Francesco Faroli as a potential replacement.

Journalist Adam Leventhal then reported that the Hornets had held "preliminary discussions" with Farioli about taking over at the club next season, although no agreement has been reached and Farioli also has admirers from across Europe.

Football Insider reported that Wilder could even be sacked before the end of the season, which led the club to release a statement on Wednesday confirming that Wilder would remain in charge at least until his contract expires in the summer, with Technical Director Ben Manga calling the rumours "disrespectful".

Wilder secured only his second win since replacing Slaven Bilic in March with a 2-0 home victory over Bristol City on Saturday, with an early own goal from Harry Cornick and Joao Pedro's second half strike sealing all three points.

The Hornets currently sit 12th in the table, but moved to within four points of the top six with four games remaining to keep their outside promotion hopes alive.

What did Chris Wilder say on his Watford future?

Wilder insisted he has been unmoved by the speculation regarding his future this week and says he has a good relationship with the club's hierarchy.

"It’s been business as usual, just getting on with it. I understood the situation, sources say and all that," Wilder told the Watford Observer.

"It’s always great because nobody ever puts a name to it. Nobody ever puts a name to that stuff.

"My relationship with the CEO/chairman Scott Duxbury has been rock solid. The club have told me what I needed to do, and I’ve told the club what I wanted to do: get on and focus on the next game.

"Speculation, I get it. I came here, I understood everything and my eyes were wide open. "I’m disappointed we’ve not got as much consistency out of the team as I wanted to do, but we’ve concentrated on that and tried to enjoy it as much as possible. "It wasn’t on my radar. The club made a statement because they thought it was right to make a statement. I don’t go demanding you must make a statement.

"They made it on their behalf, and we moved forward. ‘Sources’ has never been a rock solid one for me."

Will Chris Wilder stay at Watford next season?

It looks incredibly unlikely Wilder will remain at Vicarage Road beyond the summer.

The Hornets seem to have already identified their top target to replace Wilder in Farioli and with talks rumoured to have started with the Italian, the decision seems to have been made that Wilder will be departing.

Wilder will not have expected much job security when he became the club's third manager of the season in March and would not have been too surprised when the rumours emerged this week after the poor results under his guidance so far.

But the Hornets are back in play-off contention after their victory over the Robins and a positive end to the season may yet convince the board Wilder is the right man for next season, particularly as they face significant competition for Farioli.