Fifteenth in the Premier League with seven points from seven games, there wasn’t any real reason to panic at Watford after their decent start to life back in the Premier League.
Xisco Muñoz, the man who had got them promoted, was in charge, and while they weren’t storming the top half of the table, they had done fairly well in their opening matches.
Those in charge at the club, however, saw things differently, and swiftly acted by sacking the Spaniard to replace him with Claudio Ranieri.
The hope here will be for the Italian manager to work some of his former Leicester City magic on the Hornets, but for Xisco, it all came a bit out of the blue.
The manager sat down with EFE, relayed by Estadio Deportivo and had a chat about the whole ordeal, where he was asked if he was expecting it.
He said: “No, no. It was a surprise. We had won, drawn and then lost to Leeds. It’s not like we hadn’t been winning for five or six weeks, or that the team is a disaster and they’d put four past us. I didn’t expect it.
“[He was told] on Sunday, the day after the match against Leeds. I was going to work at eight in the morning as usual. I meet with the director of football and he communicates it to me. I am very grateful. I have been the manager with the best winning percentage at Watford for a lifetime”.
Xisco also revealed he had spoken to the Pozzo family, but he simply had to accept their decision, and he has done so since.
He added: “I wish them all the best. It isn’t a question of Xisco or Claudi Ranieri. I want them to win and achieve their objectives. I wasn’t selfish and won’t be now. I wish Claudio all the best. I’m a bit annoyed because it’s a dismissal, but I’m happy for everything we’ve done at the club”.
The 41-year-old spent 36 games in charge of Watford, winning 21 of them, drawing four and losing the other 11, and got his team to score 49 goals in that time, conceding 29.
