Watford

Watford

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Ranieri sack moments away with ‘stunned’ Watford chiefs ‘preparing’ new appointment

Claudio Ranieri after a Watford defeat in January 2022

Watford are poised to sack manager Claudio Ranieri and have already begun sizing up replacements after being left stunned by their ineptitude versus Norwich, per reports.

The Hornets suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat to relegation rivals on Friday night. The contest had been hyped up as a potential relegation decider given how few points both teams have accrued against stronger opposition.

But despite home advantage, Watford looked off the pace throughout, and manager Ranieri could soon pay the price.

Watford are not known for exhibiting patience when it comes to their hirings and firings. Indeed, Xisco Munoz was relieved of his duties less than two months into the season.

Now, according to the Telegraph, Ranieri is poised to follow suit after lasting just three months.

The newspaper state Watford are ‘ready to end’ Ranieri’s reign following their dismal Norwich defeat. The Italian is ‘close’ to being fired, and both staff and players are ‘preparing’ for the appointment of a new head coach.

Watford are deemed to be ‘already targeting replacements’, though the article does not speculate as to their identities.

Ranieri sack due ‘this weekend’

With Watford’s players not due in for training until Tuesday, the article concludes Ranieri is likely to be sacked ‘this weekend’.

The Hornets have lost seven out of their last eight league matches. Their only non-defeat was a 1-1 draw with Newcastle last weekend.

TEAMtalk’s own sources have echoed the sentiments of the Telegraph report.

We have been told by more than one reliable source that Ranieri’s time is up. A final decision could come as early as tonight.

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