The struggling Hornets need a coach to save their Premier League lives with experienced duo Nigel Pearson and Mark Hughes in their sights.
Watford have interviewed Nigel Pearson as they ramp up the search for their third manager of the season, according to the Sun (6 December, page 69), but Mark Hughes may be out of their reach.
Almost halfway through the 2019/20 season, the Hornets have more managers than wins to their name so far. Javi Gracia was sacked just weeks into the campaign, despite leading Watford to the FA Cup final in May, and Quique Sanchez Flores’s second spell in Hertfordshire was over after a grand total of ten Premier League games.
Speaking to the Standard on Thursday, goalkeeper Ben Foster admitted that Watford would benefit from hiring their first English manager since Sean Dyche back in 2011 – and it seems their the famously trigger-happy owners agree.
The Sun reports that they have held talks with Pearson but Hughes, who hasn’t worked since being sacked by Southampton a year ago, has no interest in being parachuted straight into a relegation battle.
56-year-old Pearson is best known for winning the Championship title with Leicester in 2014 before pulling off a Houdini-style act of escapology during The Foxes’ first season back in the big time.
But the acid-tongued, ostrich-enthusiast hasn’t coached in England since that ill-fated spell at Derby County three years ago and was sacked by Belgian second tier outfit OH Leuven in February.
After a couple of seasons out of the limelight, could Pearson be about to swagger back into the top flight?
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