Watford name Munoz as new boss to replace Ivic

REUTERS: Watford have appointed Spaniard Xisco Munoz as their new manager following the sacking of Vladimir Ivic, the English second-tier Championship club said on Sunday.

Munoz, who guided Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi to the top-flight title this season, is the fifth Watford manager to be hired in over a year.

He replaces Ivic, who was sacked on Saturday despite the club placed fifth place in the league standings.

Watford fired Ivic after their 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town, where he dropped club captain Troy Deeney from the squad because of a "discipline issue".

But Watford's chairman Scott Duxbury backed Deeney, who has bagged four goals and two assists in 10 games this season.

"Nobody at the club is in any doubt over Troy Deeney's high level of professionalism in his work," Duxbury said in a club statement https://twitter.com/WatfordFC/status/1340662404024328195.

"Troy is quick to hold his hands up when his conduct has fallen short of the required standard but we are satisfied that was not the case. We must move on and Troy, as club captain, will play a major role in achieving our aims this season."

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)