Next Watford manager odds: Former Uruguay boss favourite for Hornets post | OneFootball

By their standards, it’s been a while since Watford were looking for a manager... Tom Cleverly lasted longer than most, in the post since April 2024, first as an interim boss before he was given the job permanently a month later.

Cleverley was sacked after the club finished a disappointing 14th in the Championship table after losing seven of their last 11 matches. They finished 11 points off the play-off places and are now ludicrously looking for their 22nd manager since 2012.

Watford owner Gino Pozzo has revealed that they are targeting an experienced coach this time around after Cleverley, who was in his first-ever coaching role.

The good thing about the Hornets role is that there are a lot of different names on the football betting sites so we won’t just be talking about the usual suspects of Russell Martin, Gary O’Neil and Steve Cooper, who seem to be favourites for every other job that’s up for grabs at the moment.

Former Uruguay boss favourite for Hornets post?

Former Uruguay boss Diego Alonso is the favourite on betting sites for the role at Vicarage Road at 4/7. The 50-year-old has been out of work since he was sacked by Greek side Panathinaikos in October.

He took charge of his country in December 2021, and secured qualification for the World Cup in Qatar after four wins in his first four games. After failing to get through the group stages of the tournament, he resigned.

He also took charge of Sevilla, briefly, in 2023 but after eight defeats from his first eight league games and getting knocked out of the Champions League he was sacked.

His stock is not exactly high right now and his CV doesn’t make great reading but one thing in his favour is that he’s used to short-term jobs.

Who else could be set for the Vicarage Road hot seat?

The second favourite for the role is Jose Rojo Martin, or Pacheta as he is more well-known.

He has a wide and varies managerial career mainly in his native Spain, with spells at Numancia, Huesca, Valladolid, and Elche.

He was promoted to LaLiga with both Elche and Real Valladolid.

His last role was at Villarreal in 2023, but he was sacked after just two months, following five wins, three draws and four defeats from 12 matches. There seems to be a theme here.

Fellow Spaniards Alberto Garrido and Francisco José García Pimienta are also among the favourites, along with rising star Lens boss Will Still, who you would think is unlikely to swap Ligue 1 for the uncertainty at Watford in the Championship.

Garrido was appointed first team coach at Watford last summer after 15 years with Real Madrid’s reserve team and is 8/1 to make the step up.

Pimienta has been out of work since last month when he was sacked by LaLiga side Sevilla.

Could Dyche make a Watford return?

Former player and manager Sean Dyche is 25/1 on betting apps for a return to Vicarage Road but without the previous links, this is not a job you could imagine him taking.

The former Burnley and Everton boss, who has been out of work since January, began his coaching career at Watford.

He returned to the club he captained as under 18’s coach after his retirement and was promoted to assistant to Malky Mackay in 2009. When the Scot left to take charge of Cardiff, Dyche was the natural replacement.

He was sacked in 2012, once new ownership of the club came in, despite leading them to their best finish in four years.

And we all know what has happened since that change of ownership; the average lifespan of a manager at Vicarage Road is just six months.

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