Gino Pozzo has insisted “there can be no compromise” in acting “in the best long-term interests” of Watford after the Hornets confirmed the appointment of Slavisa Jokanovic as their new head coach.

The former Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro international becomes the club’s fourth permanent head coach in the space of 37 days and succeeds Billy McKinlay, who was in the job for barely a week after replacing Oscar Garcia.

The club have made no other reference to McKinlay on their website so far, except to confirm he has been replaced with “immediate effect”.

The Watford owner said: “Our job is to always to act in the best long-term interests of this football club. There can be no compromise on this – whatever the circumstances.

“I fully support and endorse the view from our technical staff that, given the talented squad which has been assembled and our position in the league, an experienced head coach with a winning pedigree is of primary importance to help ensure the success we are all striving for.”

Pozzo added: “The supporters of Watford have always been very understanding towards our project here and I am certain they will continue to do everything they can to support the new coach and his squad.”

A former midfielder whose playing career included a two-year spell at Chelsea, Jokanovic guided Partizan Belgrade to the league and cup double in Serbia in consecutive seasons and has also managed in Thailand, Bulgaria and, most recently, at Spanish club Hercules.

We first broke news of Jokanovic’s appointment this morning and you can read our story here.