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Rodgers not a quick fix - Simpson

Brendan Rodgers
Rodgers is well aware of the financial situation at Watford

Watford chairman Graham Simpson says new manager Brendan Rodgers is at Vicarage Road for the long term.

And Simpson urged fans to give the 35-year-old former Chelsea reserve-team coach time to build on the work done by previous boss Aidy Boothroyd.

Simpson told BBC Three Counties Radio: "We haven't brought him in for the next six games or the next three months.

"We have brought him in because we believe he is the right person to take us forward over a number of years."

He added: "I would ask supporters to give him a chance.

"He won't turns things around overnight. It's about putting down strong foundations, building on the work that has been done, and it will take time."

Simpson revealed that Rodgers was one of their immediate choices to succeed Boothroyd.

"It's fair to say he was on our radar from day one," he said.

"We had done our homework on him, but we had 50 applications and we interviewed eight people."

Although we are not in a wonderful position we are not in a bad position compared with many other Championship clubs

Watford chairman Graham Simpson
The Hornets chairman said his new manager was aware of the club's financial situation, which saw Boothroyd forced to sell players including Danny Shittu and Darius Henderson after the club missed out on promotion last season.

Profits were down by more than �7m in the last financial year and Simpson said Rodgers was well aware that life at Vicarage Road would be very different to that at Stamford Bridge.

"You don't bring any manager on board and tell lies," said Simpson. "You tell him how it is, and although we are not in a wonderful position we are not in a bad position compared with many other Championship clubs.

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"We are making sure we are sensible going forward as we come out of parachute payments at the end of this season. I have explained that to Brendan, he's taken that on board completely, and he knows what he's coming into."

The Hornets chairman said he could see similarities with Boothroyd, who, like Rodgers, had no first-team management experience prior to joining Watford.

"They both have ambition and focus, but Brendan has been working for 15 years to achieve this having been forced to retire from playing at the age of 20," he added.

"Of course his experience at Chelsea has made the headlines, but his time at a community club like Reading is also a key factor for us."

Rodgers' first game in charge will be Saturday's home match with Doncaster, before next week's Carling Cup quarter-final at home to Tottenham.

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see also
Watford announce fall in profits
19 Nov 08 |  Watford
Boothroyd & Watford part company
03 Nov 08 |  Watford


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