Watford set to appoint Roy Hodgson as new manager following Ranieri sacking

The Hornets sacked Claudio Ranieri on Monday

Watford are set to appoint former Crystal Palace and England boss Roy Hodgson as their new manager. As always, the Hornets are keen to make a quick appointment following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri on Monday, with the club sitting in the bottom three of the Premier League. The 74-year-old has keen out of work since he left Crystal Palace at the end of last season after announcing that he wanted to take a break from the game. However, Hodgson did not rule out a return to management - and is now set to be named as Ranieri's replacement. It is thought that Watford want to give the new manager as much time as possible to work with the squad, with a short break until their next Premier League trip to fellow strugglers Burnley on 5 February. Watford's owners - the Pozzo family - worked with Hodgson when the ex-England boss had a short spell in charge of Udinese. Hodgson took charge of Palace following the sacking of Frank de Boer at the start of the 2017/18 season - where the Dutchman lost his first four matches in charge. 

Although he lost his first three games in the hot-seat, Hodgson was able to guide Palace to 11th in the table, before they finished 12th, 14th and 14th in the following seasons.