Soccer

Quique Sanchez Flores will leave Watford at end of season

In the club’s return to Premier League the Spaniard secured a mid-table position

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores will leave the club at the end of the season, the Hornets have announced. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores will leave the club at the end of the season, the Hornets have announced. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
Fri May 13 2016 - 10:17

Quique Sanchez Flores will leave his position as Watford’s head coach at the end of the season, the Barclays Premier League club have announced.

The 51-year-old Spaniard, who was appointed in June, will exit Vicarage Road after Sunday’s final game against Sunderland, despite leading the Hornets to mid-table security in their first season back in the Premier League and an FA Cup semi-final.

A short statement on Watford’s official Twitter page read: “#watfordfc confirms Quique Sanchez Flores will leave after the end of the season.”

Sanchez Flores will have been aware of the fraught nature of the role at Vicarage Road, having replaced Slavisa Jokanovic last summer — the man who guided Watford to the Premier League.

READ MORE

And he leaves his position despite the club admitting he had achieved his target.

A statement on their club website read: “Watford...can confirm that Quique Sanchez Flores will leave Vicarage Road at the end of the season following the Sunderland game this weekend.

“We would like to thank Quique. He and the team achieved the target set them at the start of the season of staying in the Premier League for a second year.

“Quique leaves with all our best wishes for the future and the knowledge he is always welcome at Vicarage Road.”