Watford set to appoint Roy Hodgson as new manager following Claudio Ranieri sacking

The Hornets sacked Claudio Ranieri on Monday.

Watford are set to appoint former Crystal Palace and England boss Roy Hodgson as their new manager. As always, the Hornets are keen to make a quick appointment following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri on Monday, with the club sitting in the bottom three of the Premier League. The 74-year-old has keen out of work since he left Crystal Palace at the end of last season after announcing that he wanted to take a break from the game. However, Hodgson did not rule out a return to management - and is now set to be named as Ranieri's replacement.

Watford set to appoint Roy Hodgson following Claudio Ranieri sacking.

It is thought that Watford want to give the new manager as much time as possible to work with the squad, with a short break until their next Premier League trip to fellow strugglers Burnley on 5 February. Watford's owners - the Pozzo family - worked with Hodgson when the ex-England boss had a short spell in charge of Udinese. Hodgson took charge of Palace following the sacking of Frank de Boer at the start of the 2017/18 season - where the Dutchman lost his first four matches in charge. 

Although he lost his first three games in the hot-seat, Hodgson was able to guide Palace to 11th in the table, before they finished 12th, 14th and 14th in the following seasons.

Ranieri speaks after being sacked by Watford.

Ranieri spoke to Sky Sports after leaving Watford's training ground on Tuesday morning. The Italian coach, 70, has now been sacked by four Premier League clubs - Chelsea, Leicester City, Fulham and Watford - but he spoke with great dignity about his latest dismissal.

Ranieri wished his successor well and was philosophical about his situation. The former Inter Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina and Atletico Madrid coach is, as he said, 'used' to being in the position and he understands the nature of professional football at this level.

Ranieri, who famously won the Premier League as Leicester manager in 2016, will, undoubtedly, be back in the dugout at some point in the near future.

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