Ardley warns of mass Watford exodus

Neal Ardley believes there could be a mass player exodus from Watford at the end of the season.

The midfielder, who had his contract at the club terminated yesterday before joining Cardiff, says the Vicarage Road board have been trying to offload players for months behind the back of Ray Lewington, who was sacked as manager on Tuesday.

Ardley claims that Lewington had the full support of the dressing room but the players were disillusioned.

"There were several players the club were trying to get rid of above the manager's head.

The players were made aware through their agents," he said. "They said the body language of the players had not looked right but the team would have run through brick walls for Ray. If you walked around the dressing room and asked the players if they had a problem with the manager, not one would say he did.

"Ray is a fantastic man manager. He is honest, straight and a good motivator. Not many players dislike him. He won't be looking for a job for long." He added: "I am pleased to be out of it. It is a shambles. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of players were to leave."

Next through the door could be striker Danny Webber, who was on the verge of a move to Sheffield United before today's transfer deadline with defender Danny Cullip moving to Watford as part of the deal.

Meanwhile, Yeovil manager Gary Johnson has emerged as the front-runner to succeed Lewington. Since taking over at Yeovil in June 2001 Johnson has steered them into the Football League and they are now top of League Two. He is also an ex-Watford player and a former head of the club's academy.