Troy Deeney to snub Watford job offer – ‘Things have happened’
Troy Deeney has revealed exactly why he would not return to Watford if he was offered a managerial or coaching role with his old club.
The ex-striker is more closely associated with the Hornets than any other team, having made over 400 appearances and scored 140 goals in an 11-year spell at Vicarage Road between 2010 and 2021.
Throughout his time with the club and since his departure, there has been a continuous turnover of managers at the club under the ownership of the Pozzo family.
As a result, it seems the lack of job security at Watford means Deeney would not consider what could otherwise be a sentimental reunion with his former club.
Troy Deeney makes his stance clear over Vicarage Road return
Having secured a 14th place finish in the Championship this season, the Hornets have already made a big managerial change this summer.
After the season ended, Watford sacked manager Tom Cleverley, who Deeney has already tipped to bounceback quickly.
In his place, Uruguayan manager Paulo Pezzolano has been appointed to oversee first-team affairs, in what is his first managerial role in England.
That makes him the 18th permanent managerial appointment Watford have made since the Pozzo family took control of the club back in 2012.
But even if the 42-year-old had not got the job, it appears Deeney would not be keen to be the one to step into the dugout at Vicarage Road instead, given that level of turnover.
| Tom Cleverley Watford managerial record | Total (Transfermarkt) |
| Played | 60 |
| Won | 20 |
| Drawn | 14 |
| Lost | 26 |
After being asked if how he would respond if approached by Watford over the managerial role, the former striker told talkSPORT: “I’d think, ‘Thank you, but not for me’.
“The club will always hold a massive piece of my heart and the people there, but it’s just not the same anymore.
“Time has passed, people have gone, things have happened. It’s not that you can’t get those days back, but I think it’s just too much water under the bridge.
“I’ve got a lot of love and respect for the ownership, they helped me and gave me a platform to do what I needed to do, I don’t know if it’s the same the other way around but I’d hope that it is – love and respect back to me.”
Deeney also suggested a lack of quality in the squad would put him off the role, as he added: “I just think the way that certain things keep happening and it’s like, ‘God, at some point you’ve got to make a decision’.
“You can’t keep selling your best players and replacing them with bang average ones and expecting to have results, it doesn’t work like that.
“I wish them well, but the talk at the moment is if this squad is good enough to get promoted, and it’s not – this squad’s not good enough to get in the play-offs.
“You had a good manager in Tom Cleverly, he handled himself with a level of grace and decorum that he deserves, because he’s a top bloke, and hopefully that will stand him in good stead to go and get another job.
“But for right now, you can’t tell me that team’s good enough to get promoted, it’s just not.”
Watford return unthinkable for club icon
Football Insider Verdict
You can’t blame Deeney for being reluctant to take on a potential role such as this regardless of his connection with the club.
Even during the season, Cleverley found his future at Watford mired in speculation and such a situation would be difficult for any manager to work in.
Indeed, it is worth noting that even Pezzolano now has only signed an initial one-year deal at Vicarage Road, highlighting the lack of job security there is with the Hornets.
With that in mind taking that job would be a big risk especially considering as Deeney says, the quality of players would make it difficult to deliver the success required to stay in the role.
Nevertheless, you get the feeling that even if he did make himself available, Watford would themselves be reluctant to bring their former striker back as manager.
Deeney’s only spell in the dugout to date was a disastrous 29-day stint in charge of Forest Green in League Two last season in which he failed to win any of his six games in charge.
Given the success that Watford are eyeing, it was be a massive surprise if that was even considered to be a suitable CV for the role in question.