With rumours escalating that Watford boss Malky Mackay is set to swap the delights of Hertfordshire for South Wales and Cardiff City, the Hornets have acted quickly to sound out potential replacements. Chairman Graham Taylor believes that a steady hand on the tiller is vital as the club looks to stabilise itself financially after a rocky few years and has therefore turned to experience in the form of ex-Manchester City manager Brian Horton.
Horton was a key part of Hull City's charge to the Premier League in 2008 and is highly regarded within the game, and his knowledge of running a club on a shoestring is thought to be key to Taylor's choice. A pal of the ex-England supremo told us: "Brian's not a fashionable appointment, but we've had our fill of young bucks coming here and using the club as a stepping stone. We want someone who's going to stick with us and become a real Watford hero. His connections in the game at this level are second to none."
The Vicarage Road club are still hopeful that Mackay will stay, but the Scot believes that he has taken them as far as he can go and sees Cardiff as a place where he can really impose his vision on a football club. The tipping point appears to have been when the ex-Norwich centre-half was told that he would have no access to the proceeds of star striker Danny Graham's sale, which was contrary to promises made just a few short weeks ago.
Cardiff have now pinpointed Mackay as their number one target having failed to tempt Sean O'Driscoll away from Doncaster Rovers, and hope to finalise the appointment by the end of the week.
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