Watford are expected to hunt for a new head coach after Ed Still leaves the club following Saturday’s season finale against Coventry City.

The 35-year-old was only named as Hornets manager in February, succeeding Javi Gracia at Vicarage Road.

However, things have not gone as planned for Still, and it has been suggested that a decision has already been taken as Watford prepares for a promotion drive in the 2026/27 season.

Sean Dyche will not return to Watford as head coach.

Given Watford’s dismal season, there will be pressure on the hierarchy to make the correct decision, and fans will be eager to see which way the club takes.

However, Sean Dyche has decided not to accept the position. The former Everton manager has a link to the club because he was a Hornets player for three years near the conclusion of his career and coached the team in the 2011/12 season before being fired after the Pozzo family purchased the club.

So, a return never appeared possible, and Dyche told TalkSPORT that he will not be the next Watford manager.

“I liked my time at Watford as a player, assistant manager, young team coach, and manager. But I wouldn’t go back, no.”

Watford cannot afford to repeat their education. Still a mistake going forward.

It’s not surprising that Dyche would not return to Watford for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that he may believe his CV merits a Premier League post.

So this update will come as no surprise, and he was unlikely to be a viable contender in the eyes of the board.

However, they will compile a list of applicants, and it remains to be seen whether they will opt for a head coach with EFL experience, which has not been a priority in the past.

Clearly, the choice to hire Still backfired, because, while he had been a head coach in Belgium, he arrived in England with no big managing experience and had never managed in the Championship.

It’s difficult to forecast what the Pozzo family will do, and we know they have a history of replacing head coaches frequently, but fans are understandably upset with the way the club is run.

On paper, Watford has a decent roster, but it is something else that needs to be addressed, so a busy summer awaits them.

In an ideal world, the management problem will be resolved swiftly, and they should seek to bring in the majority of their new recruits as soon as possible so that the future manager may try to strike the ground running.

Now it’s a matter of getting the Coventry game out of the way, and the Hornets will have to work hard to ensure they finish in the top eight next season.