Watford have appointed Chris Wilder as their new head coach, having sacked Slaven Bilic following a run of one win in eight Championship games.
Bilic, 54, has left after five months having replaced Rob Edwards, who had only lasted 11 games, in September.
Wilder departed Middlesbrough after 11 months in charge in October.
The Hornets, relegated from the Premier League last season, have dropped to ninth in the table and they are four points off the play-offs.
Wilder, who has agreed a contract until the end of the season, is Watford’s ninth full-time manager since Javi Gracia left in September 2019.
Since Gracia was sacked just four months after taking the club to the 2019 FA Cup final, Quique Sanchez Flores, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri, Roy Hodgson, Edwards and now Bilic have all had spells in charge.
“We are all ambitious to succeed this season, so something new is needed quickly while the opportunity of promotion is still real,” technical director Ben Manga told the club website.
“With the January transfer window over, to change coach is the only option available to re-energise for the final games ahead.”
Wilder, 55, led hometown club Sheffield United to two promotions from League One to the Premier League before leaving in March 2021.
He took over at Middlesbrough in November of that year but was sacked in October 2022 with the club in the Championship relegation zone.
His first game in charge of the Hornets will be at struggling QPR on Saturday.
