Watford have confirmed that Roy Hodgson has taken over as their new manager for the remainder of 2021/22.
Hodgson is Watford’s 3rd manager of the season so far, replacing Claudio Ranieri who was sacked after just 13 Premier League outings.
Watford would confirm the news via their official Twitter account:
We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Roy Hodgson as the club’s manager.
Welcome to Watford, Roy!
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) January 25, 2022
Watford would also confirm that Hodgson has brought Ray Lewington with him to be his assistant. Lewington knows the club well after managing them between 2002 and 2005.
It has been revealed elsewhere that Hodgson has already taken charge of the club’s training on Tuesday:
▪️ Club “thrilled” to secure “double act” Hodgson and Lewington
▪️ “They’ll connect with the players”
▪️ Hodgson took charge of Watford training this afternoon
▪️ New boss tasked with improving incidents of “playground defending” under Ranieri? @AdamLeventhal and @domfifield
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) January 25, 2022
Roy Hodgson facing uphill task at Watford
The former Crystal Palace man joins Watford with the club currently sat 19th in the Premier League table.
They can move out of the bottom three if they win their games in hand on Newcastle and Norwich.
However, Watford are in dismal form and are set for a very tough run of games. Hodgson’s first match as boss will see the Hornets take on Burnley on Saturday the 5th of February. As Burnley are currently bottom of the PL with several games in hand, it is a must-win for Watford.
Following that game, Watford face off with West Ham, Brighton, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Arsenal – all of which look set to prove stern tests for this Watford team.
