"Huge statement" - Reaction given as Watford owner Gino Pozzo takes Tom Cleverley action | OneFootball

Gino Pozzo's public backing of Tom Cleverley was a 'huge statement of intent' according to FLW's Watford fan pundit.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

It appears that Tom Cleverley's job is safe, despite rumours suggesting otherwise, as Watford owner, Gino Pozzo, has made a public statement backing him.

It was first reported by TalkSport, that the Hornets were on the brink of dismissing Tom Cleverley from his duties, with the club just a point outside the play-offs, but this rumour was immediately shut down by an official statement from Watford which suggested that Cleverley's job was safe.

Then, a second statement on Watford's X account was posted, but this time the words were credited to owner, Gino Pozzo, who doubled down on the club's backing of their manager.

"Scott Duxbury and I have always believed the best possible chance of success this season is with Tom Cleverley as our Head Coach," said Pozzo. "There are always frustrations along the way during any season, but we always identified Tom as a bright young coach who we could work together with to help deliver success to the club.

"We are committed to support him and look forward to the challenges ahead together.”

The statement from Pozzo would have been good news for Watford fans who are enjoying their football under Cleverley, but of course, the Hornets do have a reputation for changing managers frequently.

Watford fan offers verdict on Gino Pozzo's statement

Following the statement from the Watford owner, FLW spoke to their Hornets fan pundit, Justin Beattie, who seemed pleasantly surprised by Pozzo's public backing of Cleverley.

He said: "It's very rare that Gino Pozzo comes out and says anything, so the fact that he's come out publicly to say that he is backing Tom would seem to be a huge statement of intent.

"Obviously, there had been some rumours surrounding Tom's future in the 48 hours preceding that announcement, and there was a statement put out by the club before the Coventry game to say that Tom would be in place for the game, but the Pozzo statement after that doubled down on it to say that he was being backed by the owners.

"With that kind of statement coming from someone who rarely speaks out, it would seem to be that Tom's job is, for now, safe. However, we are dealing with owners that are notoriously quick to remove head coaches from their position and replace them with somebody else.

"As fans, we're never quite sure what the next move is going to be when it comes to Gino Pozzo. You would hope that he means what he says and that Cleverley is the man they're backing and his job is safe.

The last couple of seasons have been tough for Watford as they have recorded back-to-back mid-table finishes in the Championship for the first time in over a decade.

There was very little excitement in the air at Vicarage Road, but this season has been a slightly different story. Former player, Tom Cleverley was appointed as Head Coach at the end of last season, and has since done an exceptional job of ensuring that his side compete in the top half of the table.

After 29 games, they sit just three points outside the play-offs and have picked up 12 wins in that spell. They have won just one of their last five league games, but that is no reason to lose faith in the 35-year-old.

This is his first full season in management, and he has dragged this Watford side into a Championship play-off battle which deserves a lot of credit.

The Watford ownership have certainly built up a reputation of not sticking with managers for long, but Cleverley should be an exception if he can continue doing the things he has done well so far.