Watford deny claims Chris Wilder will be sacked despite ‘holding talks with Francesco Farioli to succeed him’
WATFORD have confirmed manager Chris Wilder will remain in charge at the club until the end of the season.
The Hornets have won just once since Wilder took charge on March 7 as their hopes of getting into the Championship play-offs look increasingly bleak.
However, they have now confirmed Wilder will stay in his role despite reports suggesting his job was “under threat”.
Technical director Ben Manga said: “The speculation is totally disrespectful to Chris and his staff.
“As Chris has said after recent games, we are all fully focused on ending the season strongly and pushing as hard as we can while there’s still a chance of making the play-offs.”
It comes amid a report from The Athletic claiming the club have held preliminary talks with Francesco Farioli about succeeding Wilder.
Sports commentator Sam Matterface had claimed Wilder’s job was “under threat”.
Matterface added: “I think you’ll find he feels his job is under threat now.”
Former Sheffield United boss Wilder was handed the reins at Vicarage Road on a contract until the end of the season.
His first game in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat to QPR.
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He followed this up with a 3-0 win over Birmingham.
However, four frustrating games without victory have followed.
The matches against relegation battlers Wigan and Huddersfield were particularly disappointing considering the respective positions in the table.
Watford‘s next game is against Bristol City on Saturday.
They currently sit six points off of the play-off spots.
Wilder is the third manager to have been in charge of games at Watford this season, following Ron Edwards and Slaven Bilic.