Former Wigan Athletic man makes shock Championship exit

The 35-year-old, who was appointed last summer, leaves Virage Road after steering the club to a 14th-placed finish in the second tier.

Sporting Director Gian Luca Nani said: “We thank Tom for his service – not just in his role as head coach but for everything he has given Watford as a player and member of staff.

“But the time has come for a change and to build on what we believe is a young and talented squad that will have benefitted from the experience of the Championship this season.

“It has been a privilege to work closely with Tom; to understand how he sees the game and his enthusiasm for everything here. He deserves to be recognised for this and I’m sure he will have a bright future in the game.

“Tom will always be part of Watford in recognition of all that he has achieved over so many years.”

Cleverley spoke about his situation after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.

“If someone said to a lot of people around the club, if you can lose the players that we lost and sustain and maintain performance, points, league position, I think that they would have bit your hand off,” Cleverley said.

“I think there was a reason why we were in the bookies’ bottom six. But we didn't just achieve better than that, I think we maintained a real clear play-off charge until January.

“Now, the question is, how do we sustain that all the way to the end? That falls at my feet, that falls at recruitment, and that falls at the players’ mentality for what this league is, so that’s the message I left the players with. How do we improve to make sure the play-off charge is sustained?

“It’s straight into planning for next season,” he said. “We'll be able to look at the squad, look at the pre-season, how that looks, and then give it the once over.”

Watford are now seeking a 10th manager since July 2020.

Cleverley spent the 2010-11 campaign with Latics on loan from Manchester United.