Former Watford boss Graham Taylor hits out at 'malicious' Jimmy Russo as club heads for administration

Former Watford manager Graham Taylor has accused Jimmy Russo of deliberately trying to wreck the club.

Russo resigned as chairman at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night and Taylor has since been appointed interim chairman But the Hornets now face administration after Russo demanded the repayment of a £4.88million loan, having rejected a late rescue package from majority shareholder Lord Michael Ashcroft.

A passionate Taylor lambasted Russo’s decision, claiming he could have waited three to four weeks and still had his money without jeopardising the club.

Taylor said: “Russo has been saying he has the love of the club and the future of the club at heart. The deal on the table would mean he would get his money in three to four weeks but by insisting that he wants the club to go in to administration I feel that there is something malicious about it.

“Malky Mackay and the players and staff have done superbly. All of this has been simmering in the background. But I have spoken to [former chairman] Sir Elton John and he is at a loss to understand why this is happening.

“It is hard to say why this club has to go in to administration when there is a way out. Elton is more than disturbed that Russo is taking this course of action. We have until Tuesday as far as I understand it, but to see how this has developed and what has been going on behind the scenes really disturbs me.”

And Taylor added that club officials can’t even speak directly to Russo. “The only thing we can do at the moment is go through their representatives because we can’t get through to him.”

Russo turned down the club's plea to defer the repayment of his loan and demanded his money back despite the ramifications for the club, who would be deducted 10 points and plunged towards the relegation zone in the Championship if they went in to administration.

Taylor and Mackay begged Russo to suspend his demand in favour of a £7.5m rights-issue package from Ashcroft. But in a statement issued via his company, Valley Grown Salads, Russo claimed the proposal from Lord Ashcroft's company, Fordwat Limited, is not viable.

Russo also says his "significant and repeated" efforts to save Watford have been rebuffed by the club and Lord Ashcroft.

The statement read: "The rights issue proposal, while it might superficially be attractive, does not bear close examination. It gives Fordwat the opportunity to consolidate its control of the company without making an offer to other shareholders.

"In the circumstances, VGS has rejected the proposal, has announced its intention to appoint an administrator of the club and will now be serving a formal demand on Watford Leisure PLC under the terms of its guarantee for repayment of the debt owed by the club to VGS.

"VGS has been left with no alternative than to take these steps. It does so with the greatest reluctance and only after significant and repeated efforts on its part to salvage the club have been rebuffed by the board and by Fordwat."