Watch: Short-sighted Watford board sack Claudio Ranieri after just three months

After such an abject performance by Watford against fellow relegation strugglers, Norwich City, it was always going to be a matter of time before Claudio Ranieri was relieved of his duties.

Sure enough, on Monday evening, after having the weekend to assess the fall out of the defeat against the Canaries, the axe has fallen on the Italian after just three months.

It can’t really have come as any surprise, given that after 13 games and a possible 39 points at stake, Ranieri only amassed seven, the same total as his predecessor, Xisco Munoz, who achieved that total in six games less than Ranieri.

What it does mean of course is that the Hornets are now on the lookout for their third manager of the season and we are still only in January.

Is it any wonder that Gino Pozzo and his board never seem to see Watford hit the heights, precisely because of the trigger happy nature of the way that they hire and fire managers.