Watford head coach Alessio Dionisi is expected to take charge of the side for their crunch Championship showdown with Charlton Athletic this weekend, according to talkSPORT.
The Italian has come under heavy fire from supporters over the past few weeks with his side winning just one of their last seven fixtures and languishing towards the foot of the Championship table.
Dionisi only joined the club in the summer and made an impressive start to his managerial reign at Vicarage Road, beating Southampton on the opening day before picking up respectable points from testing fixtures with Wrexham and West Ham United.
However, things have since turned sour with Tuesday night's 5-1 thumping at Cardiff City representing a sixth defeat in seven matches, and fourth in succession.
The Hertfordshire outfit -- who were also beaten 4-0 at home to Burnley on Saturday -- had been expected to part ways with the former Empoli and Palermo boss in the aftermath of their South Wales disaster last night, with a number of potential contenders being mooted as his successor.
But, according to talkSPORT, it's now claimed the 46-year-old will remain at the helm with Watford's "owners acknowledge they have been too hasty with managerial changes in the past and believe the Italian is owed more time."
Watford signed 13 new players during the summer as they looked to rejuvenate the squad on the back of what has been a troublesome 2026 -- one that has already seen them dismiss three former bosses.
Javi Gracia, Charlie Daniels and Ed Still have all taken charge of the second-tier club this calendar year, and the expected departure of Dionisi would have meant a fifth fresh face being appointed to halt their steep downward trajectory.
And whilst a change isn't believed to be out of the question, the Italian, at least for now, is being given a chance to stake his claim for the post long-term.
Supporters vented their frustrations and anger at the full-time whistle of both of their recent defeats against Burnley and Cardiff, with Dionisi admitting he was feeling the heat.
"I asked for a reaction after the Burnley defeat but I didn’t get one. I was very angry with my players," he said last night.
"The game was gone by half-time and I decided to give them 10 more minutes to see if they could turn things around in the second half.
"They couldn’t and that’s why I made five substitutions. It is now important to take responsibility for where we are, for me as the coach and for the players.
"I didn’t like what I saw tonight. There was no reaction on the pitch after just one negative moment. We have to solve these problems together because there isn’t one player or one person who can solve them.
"I want to continue with my responsibilities and to work with my players because I think together we can arrive with a good result.
"I speak with my owner every day and I have a good relationship with him, but this is football and I know that last season Watford changed four coaches."
