"Last chance saloon" - Gino Pozzo sent clear Watford FC warning after £125m sale | OneFootball

FLW's Watford fan pundit has given his thoughts on owner Gino Pozzo's decision to sell Udinese and concentrate on events at Vicarage Road.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

A new era is underway at Watford following the appointment of Paulo Pezzolano as the club's new head coach.

Watford emerged as surprise play-off contenders after a strong start to the season, but no team picked up fewer points than them in the second half of the campaign, and they eventually finished in 14th place.

The Hornets wasted no time in taking action after their disappointing end to the season, parting company with head coach Tom Cleverley just three days after the final game of the campaign and replacing him with Pezzolano, who had been out of work since being sacked by La Liga side Real Valladolid in November.

It was a bold call by owner Gino Pozzo to dismiss a popular manager in Cleverley, with many supporters expressing their frustration at the move, but it seems that it marked the start of the Italian concentrating more on events at Vicarage Road.

Pozzo is reportedly set to sell Italian side Udinese, who he and his family have owned for the past 39 years, for a fee of €150 million (£125 million), and according to the Watford Observer, he will now focus all of his energy on Watford as he believes there is "considerably greater potential for growth and success" with the Hornets.

Gino Pozzo issued Watford warning following surprise Udinese sale

When asked if he believes Pozzo will now make a proper go of things at Vicarage Road after the sale of Udinese, FLW's Watford fan pundit Justin Beattie insisted that his previous actions show that he can be trusted, but he warned that if he does not start to deliver success, he could find himself coming under increasing pressure from supporters.

"I think the sale of Udinese will be a step in the right direction if Pozzo is going to stick to his work and make a go of it properly, not half-heartedly," Justin said.

"I think we can trust him to make a go of things because he has done it in the past, but if you look at the last couple of seasons, he really has taken his eye off the ball.

"This is probably the last chance saloon for him in terms of how the fans feel about him because there is a very strong anti-Pozzo sentiment among growing numbers of the fan base.

"If he gets this wrong, I've got a feeling that those voices are going to swell, and it could be quite uncomfortable for him.

"The fact that he's sold Udinese is a positive step, but the proof of the pudding is always in the eating, so we will find out next season how successful this step is."

Pozzo and his family have been involved with Udinese since 1986, so his decision to sell the club has come as a big surprise to many, and while he will need to back up his words with actions, it does seem as though he is ready to concentrate fully on Watford.

The sacking of Cleverley was never going to go down well with the Hornets fan base, but Pozzo has brought in a manager in Pezzolano who has won three promotions during his career in Uruguay, Brazil and Spain, and he has made it clear that he expects the team to be challenging towards the top of the Championship next season.

While the money from the sale of Udinese will not be going straight into Watford's transfer budget, Pozzo will surely make extra funds available for Pezzolano to strengthen his squad, and it will also reduce the need for star players, including Imran Louza, Georgi Chakvetadze and Kwadwo Baah, to be sold this summer.