Gracia named Watford coach after Silva bullet
PREMIER Leag ue club Watford appointed former Malaga coach Javi Gracia as their new ma nager on Su nday, j u s t hours a f ter sack i ng Por t uguese Marco Silva.
Watford, who sit 10th in England’s top flight, announced that the 47-year-old Spaniard had signed an 18-month contract, becoming the club’s 10th manager since 2012.
“It’s a special atmosphere and I’m very happy to feel this experience and to say thanks to them because I know [ Wat- ford fans] are the number one,” Gracia said in a video posted by Watford on Twitter.
“After the supporters will come the rest of the players, but [the fans] are the number one.”
Gracia’s first match in charge will be the FA Cup fourthround tie at Southampton on Saturday.
Earlier on Sunday, the Hornets had dismissed Silva, saying that an “unwarranted approach” for the former Olympiakos boss from Everton earlier this season was “the catalyst” for the decision.
Silva had only joined from Hull Cit y in t he close season, but af ter a strong sta rt at Vicarage Road, a run of only one w i n i n 11 Prem ier L eag ue ga mes c u l mi nate d i n h i s demise.
“The club is convinced the appointment of Silva was the right one and had it not been for the unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival for his services, we would have continued to prosper under his leadership,” Watford said in a statement.
Former Villarreal midfielder Gracia impressed as a coach when leading Almeria to promotion to Spain’s La Liga in 2013, before taking over at Malaga after a short stint with Osasuna.
He helped Malaga to cons e c ut i v e t op -10 f i n i s he s , featuring a famous win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou in his first season, but left in 2016 for an ill-fated spell at Russian club Rubin Kazan.