Watford appoint Nigel Pearson

Photo: Sky Sports

Watford have appointed Nigel Pearson as their third manager of the campaign. The former Leicester City boss will be on a contract until the end of the season.

Pearson has previous achievements especially with the Foxes; League One champion, a Championship title during the 2013/14 campaign. And a resilient 2014/15 to stay in the Premier League, ending the season with seven wins in nine games.

The 56-years-old will take over next week while Hayden Mullins will be taking charge of the Hornets for the weekend’s game against Crystal Palace.

The new Head Coach is faced with a remarkable challenge, after an awful season so far, Watford have sacked two managers, Javi Garcia and Quique Sanchez Flores. The Hornets sit at the bottom end of the table with only eight points with one win, five draws and nine losses in 15 games, conceding 30 goals, scoring nine only and keeping an embarrassing three clean sheets.

It will be a harder task for Pearson considering he’ll have to improve almost every aspect of the squad, starting from their defensive line which has been the recipient of an average of two goals per game.

When it comes to the second and final third, their usual stars haven’t been performing. Gerard Deulofeu has scored two goals and assisted a couple, quite a disappointment considering he found the net 10 times and created five goals last campaign. Troy Deeney who scored nine goals in the 2018/19 season has yet to get off the mark this time.

Considering the difficulty of his quest, Flores’ successor will be offered a ‘’survival’’ bonus if the Vicarage Road side stays in the top flight.

Despite all that, the Englishman expressed his joy via social media:

“I’m really delighted to be back working in the Premier League with Watford FC; a huge challenge for us all, but one that we can achieve if we all work together. Thank you all for the kind wishes. Cheers, Nige.’”

His fixtures before Christmas will make his job even more demanding, a trip to Anfield next weekend to be followed by hosting Manchester United on the 22nd of December.