LONDON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Premier League strugglers Watford on Saturday sacked coach Javi Gracia and replaced him with another Spaniard, Quique Sanchez Flores.

Sanchez Flores returns to Watford after leading them to a 13th place finish in the 2015/16 season when he also took them to the FA Cup semifinal.

After leaving Watford the 54-year-old spent almost two years with Espanyol in the Spanish Liga Santander and had a brief spell with Shanghai Shenhua, who he left in June- He has also coached Valencia and Atletico Madrid in Spain.

Gracia became the first coach in the Premier League to lose his job this season when he was sacked along with his coaching staff by Watford earlier in the day, paying the price for Watford's poor start to the campaign which saw them lose their opening three matches before drawing 1-1 away to Newcastle United a week ago.

Watford's only win in a 10-game run stretching into last season was a victory against League One (third tier) Coventry City in the Carabao Cup in August.

However, last season Gracia led Watford to a best-ever 11th place finish in the Premier League and took them to the FA Cup final, although they lost the final 6-0 to Manchester City.

Watford Chairman, Scott Duxbury commented that, "Javi has represented Watford with great dignity and will always be deserving of our fullest respect for his achievements," while the club issued a statement saying "everyone at the Hornets wishes Javi and his staff all the very best for the future, and they will always be welcome visitors in the future at Vicarage Road," adds the statement. Enditem

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