Walter Mazzarri is reportedly meeting with Watford heirarchy today as he fights to save his job at Vicarage Road.

The 55-year-old was assured of keeping his role as head coach beyond the end of the season as recently as a month ago, but a run of five straight defeats has put the Italian under mounting pressure.

It now appears time may have run out for Mazzarri to prove to Watford owner Gino Pozzo he is the man to take the club forward in the long-term, despite signing a three-year deal last summer.

National newspaper reports suggest a number of senior players at Watford may look elsewhere over the summer if Mazzarri remains in the top job, and nearly a year into his tenure he still regularly communicates in his native Italian during training.

After Monday's 4-3 loss at Chelsea, the Hornets are guaranteed to finish this season with fewer points than the 45 they picked up in 2015/16, which proved insufficient to save then-boss Quique Sanchez Flores from the sack.

Watford have not started one season with the same head coach they ended the last since Beppe Sannino in 2014 - and even then, he resigned four games into the next campaign.