Tom Cleverley on brink of sack as Watford boss despite Hornets being a point off play-offs

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Tom Cleverley is set to be sacked as Watford boss, talkSPORT understands.

The Championship club have released a statement dismissing the report as 'speculation', saying that Cleverley would be in the dugout for their clash against Coventry City on Saturday,.

Tom Cleverley is making a big impression in his first managerial post

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Cleverley is on the brink of being sacked at Vicarage RoadCredit: Getty

It read: "Watford FC confirms Tom will be in charge for the match at Coventry City and that the speculation over his position is just that - pure speculation."

However, the club has not offered any assurances on Cleverley's future beyond that.

The ex-Manchester United star is in his first job in management but is set to be relieved of his duties by the Hornets' hierarchy.

A 2-1 defeat at home to Preston on Tuesday night sees Watford win just two of their eight Championship fixtures since December 15.

Their promotion hopes are thus faltering as they now sit in eighth position, albeit just a point behind Blackburn Rovers, who occupy the final play-off spot in sixth place.

Cleverley was named as caretaker boss after replacing Valerien Ismael in March last year.

His first task was to steer the club clear of relegation problems and he managed that with the club finishing 15th in the table.

Appointed as permanent boss over the summer, Cleverley won his first five matches in charge this term and pushed Watford up towards the top end of the table throughout the first half of the season.

With the play-offs now clearly the aim, the decision has been made to sack the boss in order to try and cement their spot in the top six.

Since the Pozzo family took charge of Watford on June 2012, the club have been renowned for their swift changes of manager.

Cleverley has impressed in his stint at Watford and will have no shortage of suitors for his next role

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Cleverley has impressed in his stint at Watford and will have no shortage of suitors for his next roleCredit: Getty

After sacking Sean Dyche the month after they arrived, the Hornets have appointed 21 different managers to lead the club.

They are Sean Dyche, Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Sannino, Oscar Garcia, Billy McKinlay, Slavisa Jokanovic, Quique Sanchez Flores - who led the club twice - Walter Mazzarri, Marco Silva, Javi Gracia, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri, Roy Hodgson, Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic, Chris Wilder, Valerien Ismael and Tom Cleverley.

It means that Cleverley's replacement will be the 22nd boss of the Pozzo era.

Cleverley looks set for a very bright career in management with ex-teammate Troy Deeney telling talkSPORT about when he knew the midfielder would move into coaching.

Deeney told The Sports Breakfast: “He had the characteristics in the way that he broke down the game.

“We were fortunate at the time with Clevs because I was captain and he was unofficially vice-captain and he’d obviously played for Man United and Team GB and just the way he broke down how goals went in, how they were scored and what we were looking at - he just looked at the game completely differently to any of the other players.

The 35-year-old is the 21st manager of the Pozzo reign

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The 35-year-old is the 21st manager of the Pozzo reignCredit: Getty

Watford managers since Pozzo takeover in June 2022

Watford managers since Pozzo takeover in June 2022

Sean Dyche: June 2011 to July 2012Gianfranco Zola: July 2012 to December 2013Giuseppe Sannino: December 2013 to August 2014Oscar Garcia: September 2014 to September 2014Billy McKinlay: September 2014 to October 2014Slavisa Jokanovic: October 2014 to June 2015Quique Sanchez Flores: June 2015 to May 2016Walter Mazzari: July 2016 to May 2017Marco Silva: May 2017 to January 2018Javi Gracia: January 2018 to September 2019Quique Sanchez Flores: September 2019 to December 2019Hayden Mullins: December 2019 (caretaker)Nigel Pearson: December 2019 to July 2020Hayden Mullins: July 2020 (caretaker)Vladimir Ivic: August 2020 to December 2020Xisco Munoz: December 2020 to October 2021Claudio Ranieri: October 2021 to January 2022Roy Hodgson: January 2022 to May 2022Rob Edwards: May 202 to September 2022Slaven Bilic: September 2022 to March 2023Chris Wilder: March 2023 to May 2023Valerien Ismael: May 2023 to March 2024Tom Cleverley: March 2024 to January 2025

"He always studied and watched games. When you hear players talk about how you broke down games, we would be playing poker, let's say, like eight of us, and me and him would be watching. Even though the game's going on here, we're like, oh, did you see that? Or did you see this? 

"Obviously, he had great learning under Sir Alex Ferguson, so he knows how to speak. I don't really see many people come out of Man United and not know how to speak."

Watford are hoping for improvement this term, having finished 11th and 15th since suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2022.

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