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Watford have fired head coach Vladimir Ivic after just four months in charge, with the club fifth in the Sky Bet Championship, four points behind the top two.
The 33-year-old Serbian only took over for the Hornets in August following their relegation from the Premier League and has led them through 20 league games, winning nine, drawing seven and losing four, picking up the manager of the month award in November. . .
However, following Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Huddersfield, the Vicarage Road hierarchy decided it is time for another change with Ivic becoming the fourth Watford boss to face dismissal since September 2019.
Saturday December 26 7:00 p.m.
Starts at 7:45 pm
Javi Gracia led Watford to the 2018/19 FA Cup final, but since his dismissal they have gone through Quique Sánchez Flores, Nigel Pearson and now Ivic after Hayden Mullins passed as interim boss near the end of last season, already they could not avoid the descent. .
Watford’s next game is against rising rivals and league leaders Norwich – live Soccer Sky Sports on Boxing Day, and on January 9 they face Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup.
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Championship game highlights between Huddersfield and Watford
“Watford FC confirm the departure of coach Vladimir Ivic with immediate effect,” read a statement on the club’s website. “Ivic’s coaching staff will also be leaving Vicarage Road.
“The Hornets thank Ivic and his staff for their efforts this season and wish them the best for future success elsewhere.”
Ivic: Philosophies, Maccabi success and PL hopes
Before his firing on Saturday, Ivic sat down with Sky Sports to discuss his managerial philosophies, his success at Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv before joining the Hornets, and hopes for promotion for the season.
“It’s not a good idea to copy someone in this job,” Ivic said after winning the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award in November.
“You can follow a lot of coaches, especially in England as some of the best coaches in the world are here in the Premier League and in the Championship.
Before coming to Watford, Ivic had great success in Israel at Maccabi Tel Aviv
“It’s always good to talk to people who have experience and who have been successful and who can give you advice, but you need to have your own style in how you work and how you make your team understand how to improve and how you want to play them.
“My philosophy as a coach is to win games. It’s about working with my players every day, talking to them and finding the best system I can to play and achieve victory in every game.
“It can be a 5-3-2, a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. Sometimes it depends on who is available to play. My favorite system is the one you can use to get the best out of your team. “
Before coming to Watford, Ivic had great success in Israel at Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Israeli Premier League in consecutive years in 2019 and 2020, ending a three-year streak without the title of the country’s most decorated club. . Prior to his arrival there, he had also won the Greek Cup with PAOK in 2017 in his first senior management position.
Watford is fifth in the championship after 20 matches
“It was a good time [at Maccabi]”, said.” It was the first time that I moved to a new country to work [as a manager]. It is the biggest club in Israel, but it had been three years without winning the league before I entered, which was difficult for the club and the fans.
“There were also problems with Financial Fair Play when I arrived, so we had to work with a very small budget, and we used a lot of young players who had been on loan from other clubs in Israel.
“But the two years we had there were very successful and we won trophies. We did not achieve in the Europa League as I would have liked, but it was a great period and I will always remember those two years.”
What about the goals you set for the season? Naturally, there was only one.
“We have many players who came down from the Premier League, and now they have a very good chance of showing that we are a quality team who want to fight, do their best and show that we want to come back.” “he added.
“We know our goals and what we want to do, and that is to return to the Premier League. It will not be easy, it is a tough competition with many games and many good teams. It is about our mentality, being physically ready and to play game by game. “.
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