ISMAEL BIDS TO BUILD AT HORNETS

TIME and Watford managers have hardly been cosy bedfellows in recent years, but that’s exactly what Valerien Ismael wants to get the Hornets buzzing again.

- John Lyons

In taking the reins in May, the 47-year-old Frenchman became Watford’s eighth head coach in the last three years. His arrival follows a dispiriting couple of years at Vicarage Road.

A depressing relegation from the Premier League in 2021-22 was followed by a lacklustre 11th place finish in the Championship last term.

On paper, the Hornets had a squad to challenge for immediate promotion back to the top flight. On the pitch, they never came close to showing it.

It was no great surprise that a clearout ensued, while star names Joao Pedro (£30m to Brighton) and Ismaila Sarr (£15m to Marseille) were hardly likely to stick around for another season of second tier football when they had better offers on the table.

Of course, last season’s managerial musical chairs which saw Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilders all take turns in the hotseat hardly did the Hertfordshire club any favours.

It’s been left to former Barnsley and West Brom boss Ismael to pick up the piece. A 4-0 opening day home win against QPR was just the start he would have wanted to get the fans onside, but a goalless draw against Plymouth, also at Vicarage Road, and a 1-0 loss at Stoke have somewhat dampened that early enthusiasm.

“It’s a different challenge for sure, but we are aligned, this is the main message from me,” said Ismael ahead of today’s game against Blackburn. “From day one, we thought it could be an excellent team and from pre-season the feeling got better and better. We can build something together.

“With the start we made against QPR, it showed that if we have time to reshape things, we will have success and that is my feeling, the feeling of the club.