Watford have appointed Xisco Munoz as their new head coach – their fifth permanent boss in 16 months, and 13th since the Pozzo family bought the club in 2012.
Munoz, a former winger who helped Valencia to the double of the LaLiga title and UEFA Cup 16 years ago, was described by the Hornets as having “an attacking philosophy to his coaching”.
The Spaniard joins the Sky Bet Championship side following a period as manager of Dinamo Tbilisi, who he ushered to the Georgian Premier League title earlier this year.
Vladimir Ivic was sacked after Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Huddersfield Town, a match which saw captain Troy Deeney left on the bench for disciplinary reasons, which left them fifth in the table, nine points behind leaders Norwich.
Ivic only arrived at Vicarage Road in August, filling the vacancy left by Nigel Pearson's shock sacking with just two games left of the 2019/20 Premier League season.
Watford said in a statement on their website: “Watford FC is pleased to confirm the appointment of Xisco Munoz as head coach.
“The 40-year-old Spaniard will be joined at Watford by Roberto Cuesta (assistant coach) and Jorge Abella (strength and conditioning coach), while Antonello Brambilla – who was already at the club – will move into the role of first-team goalkeeping coach.”
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Prior to the news of Ivic's, most of the questions fielded at him following defeat by Huddersfield centred on Deeney's exclusion from his starting XI.
The Hornets striker was an unused substitute in this sorry performance in West Yorkshire. His omission was all the more puzzling considering he had scored in his three previous outings.
“He didn’t start because he played a lot of full games recently," Ivic explained.
“I believe that he wasn’t ready to play from the beginning but the reason he wasn’t able to come on was a discipline issue.”
When asked if Deeney had a future at the club, Ivic added: “I don’t know, we will see. It’s between us and I don’t want to speak about this. I’m the coach and I know what is my responsibility.”
Watford chairman Scott Duxbury issued a public defence of the club captain on Sunday, saying in a statement: “Nobody at the club is in any doubt over Troy’s high level of professionalism in his work and any dealings with the coaching staff.
“As he’s admitted in the past, Troy is quick to hold his hands up when his conduct has fallen short of the required standard but we are completely satisfied as a club that was not the case ahead of the Huddersfield game.
“There will be no hangover from this. We must move on and Troy, as club captain, will play a major role in achieving our aims this season.”
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