Watford boss Gracia resigns after three months

Watford head coach Javi Gracia has resigned after just over three months in the job following their 2-0 defeat by Swansea City.

Gracia, who only returned for a second spell at Vicarage Road in October, called for a meeting with club owner Gino Pozzo following Saturday's loss, saying the team were in a "very difficult moment".

"We retain the belief Javi was the right man to lead the club towards its push for promotion, but Javi felt he no longer had the motivation and was not the right man to continue coaching this exciting group of young players," a club statement said., external

"We respect his decision and accept his wish to leave Vicarage Road with immediate effect."

Gracia departs with Watford in 10th place in the Championship, four points adrift of the top six and with an away trip to third placed Hull City on Tuesday.

Charlie Daniels, Dan Gosling and Adrian Mariappa are set to take over the reins for the trip to face the Tigers.

The 55-year-old Spaniard led Watford to 11th in the Premier League and an FA Cup final during his first spell in charge, but oversaw just 21 games in his second stint at the club.

He returned to Vicarage Road following the short reign of Paulo Pezzolano and enjoyed a good start, winning eight and losing just three of his first 16 matches in charge.

But results have taken a turn for the worse since the start of January and Gracia called time on his tenure after the defeat against Swansea left the Hornets without a win in four games.

Folowing that loss, Gracia stated he was unhappy with the state of the team and also hinted he was unhappy with a lack of activity in the January transfer window.

"I want to speak with the owner and to know how they feel because I'm really disappointed with the level of the team, the situation of the team and maybe the future of the team as well," Gracia had said in the aftermath of their defeat.

BBC 3CR sports editor Geoff Doyle:

This has been brewing since the beginning of January when the transfer window opened. Gracia was hoping for some experienced, senior players to add to his squad. He didn't get them and his frustration has been building.

It's coincided with a run of four league games without a win which came off the back of four wins in a row at the end of December. At the same time injuries have kicked in and there have been some squad players Gracia simply didn't rate.

He's indicated that he has been let down although having been at Vicarage Road before he must have known what he was letting himself in for.

Where does this leave Watford? Where it always does - looking to find a good head coach who can work with the club and the trading model it follows.

It means fielding a lot of young, inexperienced players and hoping they will be good enough to deal with a demanding Championship.