‘Tom Cleverley furious at Watford players vs Sunderland’ amid sack uncertainty
Watford manager Tom Cleverley will have been left “furious” by what his players did in their draw with Sunderland, Andy Hinchcliffe has said.
Despite his side challenging for a place in the Championship play-offs spots, there has recently been speculation Cleverley’s job with the Hornets could be under threat.
That prompted the club to issue a statement on social media ahead of their game against Coventry late last month confirming the 35-year-old would be in charge for that game.
Many found the nature of that statement from Watford to be strange given the lack of long-term commitment to Cleverley, who may have been felt more pressure after how things started at Sunderland.
Tom Cleverley enraged by Watford after Luke O’Nien strike
Going into that game on Saturday (8 February), the Hornets faced a Sunderland side on a high after their 3-2 win over Middlesbrough last time out to kept them in the mix for automatic promotion.
Indeed, it was the Black Cats who took the lead 15 minutes into the game, when a corner was headed across goal by Trai Hume for the unmarked Luke O’Nien to head home at the near post from just yards out.
Moments later, the Hornets then gave away a cheap free-kick in a dangerous area inside their own half, all of which left Hinchcliffe to suggest Cleverley will have been far from happy with his team amid everything.
Commentating on the game for Sky Sports, the former Everton and Man City full-back said (12:50pm): “That goal has given Sunderland a huge lift, the crowd are behind them, they’re surging forward now, really positive play from [Chris] Rigg, he’s looking to make the pass then realises he’s got acres of space to run into, so drives into it.
“Once he gets goalside of [James] Abankwah the defender can’t make contact with him he’s going to give the free-kick away. They’ve got to dig deep here Watford, they can’t afford to concede a quick second.
“Tom Cleverley will be furious. For 15 minutes a decent contest, they give away a cheap goal and they’re up against it now.”
Dennis Cirkin leveller leaves Tom Cleverley with mixed feelings
Football Insider Verdict
Despite that slow response to going behind, the Hornets did eventually rally to turn things around.
A Tom Dele-Bashiru penalty and a stunning strike from Imran Louza put Watford 2-1 up shortly after half-time.
However, Dennis Cirkin struck late for Sunderland to make it 2-2, and the hosts were the ones who looked more likely the win the game when it came to late chances, where Sunderland may rue not having Liverpool loanee Jayden Danns available.
With that equaliser having again come after the Hornets failed to defend a corner, Cleverley will be disappointed his side did not see things out to claim the win.
Even so, he will also be pleased to see the resilience his Watford side did show after it initially looked as though they had been left rocking by that opener for Sunderland.
Given the club’s history though when it comes to their turnover of managers, you can never be certain when it comes to what all that might mean for Cleverley’s job with the club.