Why Watford have sacked Tom Cleverley revealed | OneFootball

Watford sporting director Gian Luca Nani has opened up on the club's surprise decision to sack head coach Tom Cleverley.

Watford have parted company with head coach Tom Cleverley after just over a year in charge at Vicarage Road.

Cleverley initially took charge of Watford on an interim basis in March 2024 following the sacking of Valerien Ismael before being handed the permanent job the following month after picking up some impressive results during his caretaker spell.

Despite many tipping them to struggle this season, the Hornets made an excellent start to the campaign and emerged as surprise play-off contenders, but it was reported in January that the club were considering replacing Cleverley with Spanish coach Pacheta.

As Watford were sitting just one point outside the top six at the time, the rumours were greeted with anger by supporters, and the backlash prompted owner Gino Pozzo to release a rare public statement confirming that Cleverley retained his full backing.

However, Pozzo's vote of confidence did little to inspire a change in fortunes for the Hornets, and no team in the Championship picked up fewer points than them after Christmas, with Cleverley's men accumulating just 23 points in their final 25 games.

After suffering four defeats in their last five games, Watford eventually finished the season in 14th place, 11 points from the play-offs, and the club have now taken the decision to relieve Cleverley of his duties.

Watford sporting director opens up on controversial Tom Cleverley call

After Cleverley's departure was confirmed, Watford sporting director Gian Luca Nani thanked the 35-year-old for his commitment to the club over the years both as a player and manager, but he insisted that it was the right time to make a change after a disappointing second half of the season.

"We thank Tom for his service – not just in his role as Head Coach but for everything he has given Watford as a player and member of staff," Nani said in a statement on the club's official website.

"But the time has come for a change and to build on what we believe is a young and talented squad that will have benefitted from the experience of the Championship this season.

"It has been a privilege to work closely with Tom; to understand how he sees the game and his enthusiasm for everything here. He deserves to be recognised for this and I’m sure he will have a bright future in the game.

"Tom will always be part of Watford in recognition of all that he has achieved over so many years."

Gino Pozzo must be prepared for Watford backlash after Tom Cleverley axe

Amid the speculation over Cleverley's future in January, Pozzo said that the club remained "committed to support him and look forward to the challenges ahead together", so his dismissal looks like another swift change of heart from the club, just like the infamous promise to support Rob Edwards "come hell or high water" before sacking him after just 11 games in 2022.

Despite the dismal recent run of results, Cleverley remains an incredibly popular figure among Watford supporters, and the decision to replace him will no doubt spark a furious reaction from an already frustrated fan base.

The Hornets were bottom of the form table in the second half of the season, so it is easy to see why the board were alarmed by the poor form, but Cleverley was given virtually no money to spend and was working with a young squad, and after keeping his side in play-off contention for much of the campaign, he can certainly consider himself unfortunate to be losing his job.