The Chris Wilder era at Watford got off to a less-than-ideal start on Saturday afternoon, as the Hornets were beat at Loftus Road by Gareth Ainsworth’s QPR side due to a first-half Tim Iroegbunam goal.
Watford’s hierarchy have, as ever, acted impulsively in the managerial market this season in an attempt to get a talented group of players firing, with the club now on their third boss of the campaign following the dismissals of Rob Edwardsand Slaven Bilic.
Ex-Sheffield United man Wilder has promotion pedigree in the Championship, and it is likely only a repeat of his achievement with the Blades during the 2018-19 season will keep the 55-year-old in the Hertfordshire hotseat past the conclusion of this campaign.
The Hornets are currently 11th in the second-tier standings, and with six points separating themselves and sixth-placed Millwall, there is plenty of work for Wilder to do to ensure his side end up in the playoffs in May.
Despite the undoubted attacking power within their ranks, Watford have struggled to find the net of late, having failed to score in their last three fixtures – fans will be looking towards the likes of Joao Pedro and Keinan Davis to change the team’s offensive fortunes on Tuesday.
Birmingham went a long way in easing any faint fears of relegation this season on Saturday at St Andrew’s, with goals from Reda Khadra and Kevin Long securing a 2-0 success over Rotherham.
Johnq Eustace opted for a back four to face the Millers and the ex-Watford captain was rewarded for his bravery, with the wide pairing of Tahith Chong and the goalscoring Khadra giving Blues a consistent attacking threat that is not always present when the team adopts a wing-back system.
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Saturday was a perfect day for the Second City club in terms of results, with three points against Matthew Taylor’s men being accompanied by losses for Blackpool, Huddersfield Town and Wigan Athletic, meaning Birmingham are now 10 points ahead of the relegation zone with 10 games to play.
Although mathematical safety will not be secured until April at the very earliest, Eustace will know deep down that his side only need a few more points to retain their second-tier status for another year, and that represents an achievement in some sense considering Blues were favourites to suffer relegation in August.
As parts of St Andrew’s and Wast Hills training ground sit inhabitable, as well as with the club’s questionable ownership under intense scrutiny from the EFL, the only form of stability over the past decade for Bluenoses is that their side play 46 matches of Championship football every season – something that should not be taken for granted.
