Relegated Watford expect to install Vladimir Ivic as their new head coach – in time for the Serbian to take charge of pre-season training next week.
The former Maccabi Tel Aviv boss, who won the title twice in Israel, is close to agreeing terms on a two-year contract with the option of a third year at Vicarage Road.
Hard-liner Ivic, 43, was always the front runner to succeed Nigel Pearson in the Hornets hot-seat.
Pearson was sacked just two games before the end of the Premier League season, but caretaker Hayden Mullins was unable to prevent Watford from slipping out of the top flight after five years in the Premier League.
Watford sounded out Gerhard Struber, the Austrian who saved Barnsley from relegation in a dramatic finish to the Championship season, and ex-Brighton manager Chris Hughton.
But the appointment of Ivic, who won eight international caps for Serbia and Montenegro as an attacking midfielder, as the Hornets’ 13th change at the helm since 2012 is thought to be imminent.
Watford owner Gino Pozzo sent fans an open letter last month admitting the Hornets made “mistakes surrounding the team” leading to relegation.
And he promised significant changes to make them “ready to face the challenges ahead” after Watford’s return to the Championship.
But in a rallying message to supporters, jointly signed by executive chairman Scott Duxbury, Pozzo insisted Watford would not be defined by their return to the second tier.
He said: “There is obviously huge disappointment at losing our Premier League status, we cannot pretend otherwise. What league we play in, however, does not define the football club.
“We will not allow the core values of Watford FC to become diluted simply because we are not playing in the Premier League.”
The letter added: “We have always said we are here for the long-term and we will not allow this one moment of great disappointment to stop the continued development of this club over the next eight years and beyond.
“This is not to detract from mistakes that were made surrounding the team this season. We have to be scrupulously honest with ourselves and admit our efforts surrounding the team were not good enough.
“We will make changes where the team is concerned and those changes will make us stronger, ready to face the challenges that lie ahead and rekindle the passion that has always been a hallmark of this great club.”
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