4 Tom Cleverley replacements Watford FC must consider ASAP - ex-Liverpool coach features | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at some of the faces that could potentially be in-line to succeed Cleverley at Vicarage Road

Notorious managerial sackers Watford are on the hunt for a new head coach following a post-season axing for Tom Cleverley.

Cleverley, who played 137 League games for the Hornets before hanging up his boots, has been fired after 14 months in the job, with what many fans are suggesting is an incredibly harsh decision by owner Gino Pozzo.

There may not be a rush to appoint the ex-Man United midfielder's successor, given the fact pre-season will not be for another two months, but here are four managers who the hierarchy should be considering giving a chance to next in the Vicarage Road dugout.

Sean Dyche

Sean Dyche and Watford have history, of course.

Dyche made 72 League appearances for the club between 2002 and 2005, and returned as an academy coach in 2007.

He was appointed manager in 2011 but only stayed in the job for one season, getting the sack in July 2012 despite having taken the Hornets to an 11th-placed finish in the Championship ,which was their best league performance in four years.

Dyche of course has gone on to bigger and better things within football with the likes of Burnley and Everton, but is now out of work after his axing from Goodison Park earlier this season - could he be tempted with a return to Hertfordshire irrespective of the lack of job security?

Pacheta

Pacheta was linked with the Watford job in January, although at the time the club described this at the time as "pure speculation", with Cleverley still very much in his position at the time.

There is no smoke without fire though, and Pozzo could now potentially make his move for the 57-year-old if he is his number one choice.

Pacheta's last managerial position was in Spain, where he was the manager of Villarreal between September and November 2023 before getting sacked with a record of five wins, three draws and four defeats in 12 matches in all competitions, and with the club sitting 13th in the league, just five points above the relegation places.

Pep Lijnders

Lijnders was the assistant to Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool from 2018 to 2024, a period during which they won both the Premier League and Champions League.

He left the club along with Klopp at the end of the 2023/24 season and took a managerial position in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg.

Things didn't work out for the Dutchman there though and he only lasted until December before he was sacked, with the team ten points off the top of the Austrian Bundesliga, albeit he still had a 44.83 per cent win record there.

Still in the infancy of his managerial career though, Lijnders could benefit from a return to England, and Watford could be a good potential stepping-stone for the future.

Ryan Mason

Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League performance this season may make the idea of hiring one of their assistant coaches as manager seem a little strange, but Ryan Mason is very highly regarded.

Injury curtailed his playing career at the age of 28 after suffering a head injury while playing for Hull City against Chelsea, but he joined the youth coaching staff at Spurs immediately upon his retirement and has had two spells as their first-team manager since then on an interim basis.