Latest Coventry City news from CoventryLive as sacked rival took aim on Mark Robins’ play-off contenders after 2-1 victory at Vicarage Road
In the last hours before he was fired as Watford manager, Valerien Ismael had little positive to say about Coventry City. Maybe it was sour grapes, or maybe he just knew what was coming.
Play-off contenders under Mark Robins overcame a goal deficit at Vicarage Road to win 2-1 and finally put an end to Ismael’s career after he had only one league victory in his previous ten games.
Instead of concentrating on his own club, which hasn’t won at Vicarage Road since November 28, Ismael decided to criticise the Sky Blues, maybe in light of the Watford owners’ lack of tolerance for ineffective managers.
Not that it helped him much, as the Pozzo family’s 20th management appointment at Watford was removed. Watford played 41 games under Ismael’s supervision; they won 12, lost 15, and drew 14.
On Saturday, two goals from Haji Wright proved to be the difference for Coventry. The American international scored a composed goal in the 72nd minute after successfully converting a penalty in the 40th to cancel out Ryan Porteous’s headed opening goal.
Watford’s performance belied their recent bad run of play, so the outcome was harsh on them, but they now risk getting drawn into the Championship relegation struggle.
Regarding Ismael’s assessment, the former manager of West Brom and Barnsley stated: “We finally got off to a strong start in a home game.” We had numerous opportunities. We ought to have taken the lead with a second goal, but they unexpectedly won the penalty.
It’s unfortunate that despite our best efforts in the second half, they managed to score on their lone attempt on goal. We tried, at least. Nothing from Coventry was visible to us today.
It was just one of those days when everything didn’t go your way. We were hazardous and we didn’t stop pushing, but when things don’t work out the way you expect, you start overanalyzing again. We are confident in our ability to compete, but confidence is also a factor.
A later comment from the team Saturday evening read: “Tom Cleverley will assume the position of interim head coach at Vicarage Road.
“This comes after Watford FC, following today’s home loss to Coventry City, terminated Valerien Ismael’s contract.
The Hornets express their gratitude to Valerien and his team for their devotion and hard work. The club’s board, however, believes that the timing is right to make a modification in order to get better outcomes.
After six seasons at Watford, Cleverley, an England and Manchester United midfielder, announced his retirement from competition last summer and joined the coaching staff of the team.
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