Watford have officially appointed Edward Still, brother of Will Still, as their new head coach, The Pitch Prospect previously announced.
Javi Gracia left his role as Hornets boss at the start of February, leaving Vicarage Road just three months after returning to the helm.
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Still has now been confirmed as the next man in charge at Watford after signing a two-and-a-half year deal at Vicarage Road.
The 35-year-old has not managed it consistently since his short spell as Kortrijk coach in 2023.
He was sacked after just eight games, having lost six times at the start of the 2023-24 season.
Still most recently served as assistant to Besnik Hasi at Anderlecht, who was relieved of his duties with the Belgian team at the beginning of the month.
After Hasi’s departure, he still briefly took charge of the interim team, although he suffered defeats in his two games against Royal Antwerp and Genk.
Watford announce Edward Still
As part of the unveiling of their new head coach, the Hornets announced that interim boss Charlie Daniels will take on the role of first team coach.
Karim Belhocine will also join the club in the same position.
Upon his arrival, Still told watfordfc.com: “I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m so excited and proud to be here.
“This is a club that occupies a huge place in English football and has a fantastic history.
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“The focus will be on winning games as quickly as possible and getting the best out of the players.
“The fans can expect our team to be aggressive, very compact in defense and fast in attack.”
“Ed is a coach that this young group of players will quickly identify with,” added Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Duxbury.
“Ed’s appointment was made with the belief that this is a coach whose modern and progressive training methods fit perfectly with our squad dynamic, who we believe will take the team forward and who will give us a real chance to fight for the play-offs.
“We are very pleased that Charlie Daniels has accepted Ed’s invitation to become part of his coaching staff and are truly grateful for the job and the work he has done in the meantime.”
“He quickly earned the respect of the technical department and players and his promotion maintains that connection with the academy.”
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Gracia’s departure
Gracia, in his second spell as Hornets head coach, resigned from the club following a 2-0 defeat to Swansea.
“The club is saddened and disappointed to confirm the resignation of Javi Gracia as head coach,” said a statement on Watford’s website earlier this month.
“We continue to believe that Javi was the right man to lead the club towards promotion, but Javi felt he no longer had the motivation and was not the right man to continue to coach this exciting group of young players.”
Former Bournemouth full-back Daniels was responsible for Watford’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton on Saturday, extending their winning streak to six games.
The decline in form has impacted Watford’s playoff push as the Hornets are now three points behind sixth-placed Wrexham and have fallen to 11th.
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Daniels reflects on the Saints’ loss
“I thought it was another good performance, especially in the first half,” Daniels said after the defeat on the south coast.
“I thought our level dropped in the second half which allowed Southampton to get back into the game.”
“We created a lot of chances, but we just couldn’t put the ball into the net.”
“We didn’t train the goalkeeper enough. The players know that – I told them after the game.”
“We talk about responsibility. It’s not just about not having the ball, chasing your man and doing all the dirty work, but also about taking responsibility when you get a chance.”
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Stay tuned
Still’s first game as Watford manager comes on Saturday when the Hornets travel to Preston.
Preston, like Watford, will be hoping to secure the play-offs and move level with Wrexham on 47 points after they ended a four-game winless run with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth at the weekend.