LUCA VIALLI has been sacked as Watford FC manager, plunging the Hornets into an even deeper crisis.

Following the resignation of chairman Sir Elton John earlier this month, the Hornets axed coach Ray Wilkins and three members of the Vicarage Road backroom staff earlier this week in a desperate attempt to cut more costs in the wake of the ITV Digital disaster.

Watford have decided to make no comment at this stage.

"In fairness to Luca Vialli, the club will not be making any further comment for the time being," said chief executive Tim Shaw. "I appreciate that fans want to know more, but I'm sure that they'll understand our need to be fair to everyone involved."

In this week's The Watford Observer, sources close to the former Juventus and Sampdoria legend suggested he wanted to stay at the helm, but his fate appears to have already been determined by the Hornets' board.

Despite his apparent wishes, the signs were already ominous, with Vialli having cleared out his office at Watford's London Colney's training ground, and several players finishing their mid-season training stint under the impression that the manager wouldn't be in charge for much longer.

Vialli was unveiled as the successor to Graham Taylor last year in a wave of expectancy, but the early optimism quickly faded as the Hornets struggled to find any real consistency during the season.

The manager's transfer policy also came in for extensive criticism, with several of his big-money acquisitions failing to make any real impact.

After Watford had finished a disappointing 14th in Division One, the board insisted they would stick by their man, but the goalposts moved substantially after the source of their TV revenue collapsed, forcing the board to look at cost-cutting measures.

June 14, 2002 15:30