Silva takes Watford job and salutes their ambition
Marco Silva, the former Hull City manager, has been appointed as the new Watford head coach on a two-year contract with a break clause that will allow both parties to review their situation at the end of next season.
The Portuguese coach raised his stock considerably at Hull where he was appointed in January and, although unable to avoid relegation he recorded a credible six wins in the Premier League, including one over Liverpool. He brings with him three members of his back-room staff and there is another summer of change expected in the Watford squad.
The club moved quickly to appoint Silva with the expectation that there would be competition for the 39-yearold, who was a contender for jobs in England and Portugal. Although Walter Mazzarri, Silva’s predecessor, ensured the club’s survival in the Premier League with relative ease, there were major concerns that his cautious style and constant changing of the team alienated the supporters. There were hostile chants directed at Mazzarri during the 5-0 defeat to Manchester City on the last day of the season at Vicarage Road, the game that followed the announcement that he was leaving. After appointing two Premier League novices in Quique Sánchez Flores and Mazzarri, the club wanted a manager with experience of the English top-flight.
They are ambitious to be a top-10 club and the owner, Gino Pozzo, believes they are capable of making progress year on year. A demanding owner, he and Silva have agreed a break clause after the first year.
Silva said: “They showed me the project and I like the ambition. The club want to improve in the next seasons and this is what I try to fight for in my career as well – to always improve, to do a good job and to ensure a good connection between the manager and the club. The ambition this club has is really important to me.”
He added: “The club is moving forward as a Premier League club but we always want to improve our position in the table and that’s important for next season. We want to play good football so that our fans feel well [sic] when they come to see our team play.”
Scott Duxbury, the Watford chief executive, said: “His pedigree and promise speaks for itself.”