Former Watford boss Marco Silva has been sacked by Everton.

The Portuguese has been under mounting pressure at Goodison Park for some time and his tenure has been brought to an end following last night’s 5-2 defeat in the Merseyside derby to Liverpool that left the Blues in the relegation zone.

A club statement reads: “Everton Football Club can confirm that manager Marco Silva has left the Club.

“Majority Shareholder Farhad Moshiri, Chairman Bill Kenwright and the Board of Directors would like to thank Marco for his service over the last 18 months and wish him well for the future.

“Duncan Ferguson has taken temporary charge of the first team and will manage the side for the game against Chelsea on Saturday.

“The Club aims to confirm a new permanent manager as swiftly as possible.”

Silva finally moved to Goodison Park in May 2018, having been sacked by Watford in January of that year with the Hornets blaming the Toffees initial approach for causing their then head coach to lose focus, leading to a downturn in results.

The Hornets subsequently lodged a formal complaint to the Premier League which led to Everton paying £4 million compensation to avoid an enquiry.