"Never rule anything out..." - Claim made as Tom Cleverley takes interim charge at Watford | OneFootball

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…

In what is a constantly reoccurring theme, Watford have a new man in the Vicarage Road dugout for the time being following the sacking of Valerien Ismael.

It felt as if the writing was on the wall for the former Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion boss ever since reports of a potential dismissal surfaced via TalkSport following the 2-1 home defeat against Huddersfield Town on February 24th.

And since then, results have hardly given the impression that the dire run of form which the Hornets currently find themselves in shows any sign of slowing down, following an accumulation of just one point from the following three matches.

Indeed, the straw which broke the camel's back once more as far as the Pozzo family are concerned was Saturday's 2-1 defeat against play-off chasers Coventry City, as Haji Wright's two goals saw the Sky Blues cancel out Ryan Porteous' 20th-minute opener.

Hours after the final whistle in Hertfordshire, Watford confirmed the news of Ismael's departure, as well as the surprise news that former midfielder and current coach Tom Cleverley will take over for the remainder of the season.

"Tom Cleverley will assume the position of Interim Head Coach at Vicarage Road," a club statement read.

"This follows Watford FC terminating the contract of Valérien Ismaël after today's home defeat to Coventry City.

"The Hornets thank Valérien and his staff for their dedication and commitment, however the club's Board considers it an appropriate time to make a change in order to improve results.

The statement concluded: "Tom Cleverley's staff will be confirmed in due course."

"Very surprised..." - Watford FC fan pundit issues Tom Cleverley verdict

After yet another changing of the guard at Watford, which is now the fifth since the club were relegated from the Premier League in May 2022, Football League World have quizzed our Hornets fan pundit, Justin Beattie, on his thoughts on whether Cleverley should be given the full-time role if results between now and May are to improve.

"With regards to Cleverley being appointed interim head coach, I would say never rule anything out when it comes to head coaches at Watford," Beatte stated.

"I'd be very surprised if he is the head coach of Watford at the start of next season," he continued. "But obviously, we haven't seen him do anything with the team yet, so let's wait and see on that one."

"I'm delighted for Tom, he's been a good servant to the club over the years and is a very likeable guy and I think, of any interim head coach we could've been given, Cleverley is as good as any," Beattie added.

"Good luck to you Tom Cleverley, and let's see what the future holds."

A shrewd temporary appointment for Watford FC

Given the predicament that Watford currently find themselves in, it certainly is a shrewd appointment in the short-term.

As a result of recent form, Watford must consolidate for the remainder of the season, as they could still somewhat be looking over their shoulders with just a seven-point gap between themselves in 14th and Sheffield Wednesday in 23rd, as a result of the enthralling relegation battle in this season's Championship.

However, given his pre-established connections with Watford supporters, having played 181 times and scoring 19 times across two spells with the club, he already has the fans onside.

Also, being a coach under Ismael means that the squad will take less time to adjust to any methods the 34-year-old looks to implement in the remaining nine games, as he looks to end a dismal run which has seen them accumulate just 10 points since New Year's Day - only Rotherham have picked up less points in 12 league outings across that time frame.

This is a great opportunity for Cleverley to enhance his coaching profile, and potentially land the job on a permanent basis, and his first game comes this Saturday away to Birmingham City.