Evergreen Roy Hodgson is back in football management with Watford but faces an awkward link-up with one of his fiercest rivals.
The 74-year-old has answered the Vicarage Road SOS after Claudio Ranieri became the second manager to leave the Premier League relegation scrappers.
But Hodgson must now address Harry the Hornet before dealing with a relegation great escape with four teams in the mire.
The Watford mascot risked the wrath of the then Crystal Palace boss in 2018 for mocking Wilfried Zaha for diving back in 2016 after face planting on the pitch.
And Hodgson delivered his own stinging retort that had the Hornet on the retreat.
He said: “If you’re asking me whether Harry the Hornet, who I presume is the mascot, should dive in that way, I think it’s disgraceful.
“Because that’s not what football matches are about. If it’s provoking the crowd into looking for something that’s not there, it should be stopped.
“Wilf Zaha does not dive for penalties. He gets knocked over sometimes – sometimes he gets knocked over or unbalanced without it being a penalty or a foul – because he runs at such speed and has such agility with the ball. But he certainly doesn’t dive.
“But of course teams try to take every advantage they can. I would be very disappointed if the Palace mascot was doing something like that to provoke the crowd against an opponent. And if I found out about it, I would stop it.”
