Former Portsmouth managerial candidate Chris Wilder poised to replace sacked Slaven Bilic at Watford

The 55-year-old is reportedly set to link up with Championship Watford after their decision to part company with Slaven Bilic.

Bilic has been sacked by the Vicarage Road outfit after just six months in charge, with the Hornets ninth in the table and four points off the play-offs.

Wilder has been out of work since his Middlesbrough sacking in October.

Since then he’s been linked with various roles and was sounded out by Pompey in January as they went through the thorough process of finding a replacement for Danny Cowley.

The News understands, though, that Wilder – who applied for the Blues job before Richie Barker’s appointment in 2013 – made it clear he was keen to operate at a higher level than League One and ruled himself out of the running.

Since his appointment as Pompey head coach, John Mousinho has guided Pompey to six wins and two draws during his 10 games in charge to date.

The 10th-placed Blues travel to Barnsley tonight with the hope of closing the gap on the top six and making a late surge towards a play-off place.

Wilder’s first game in charge of Watford could be their trip to QPR on Saturday.