Midfielder Ismaël Koné was pleased to make his Watford debut despite his side falling to a 2-0 defeat at Reading in the Emirates FA Cup.

During his first outing in the traditional yellow strip, the Canadian’s focus was at the base of midfield as he looked to break the lines and give the Hornets an opportunity from set-pieces.

The 20-year-old was disappointed with the end result, but felt there were positives to take into a potential first league appearance against Blackpool next weekend (Saturday January 14, 3pm KO).

“It felt good [to play], I felt good,” Koné said. “I think we fought well. Unfortunately, we couldn’t score, but I think we had the right mentality going into the game.

“When you look at it, that was a team that has been put together over the last few days with players from the Academy, players that don’t play a lot and me, who has just come in. I’m just proud of the fact that we came and we fought, and we were able to play in our moments because we knew it was going to be tough, but I’m proud.

“I was hoping to get my debut from the start of the week, but it wasn’t clear until yesterday when I knew I was starting the game.

“This was for me to get minutes, to get my match fitness in and to get ready to go back with the team and play. Slaven Bilić didn’t ask much of me, he just asked us to execute the game plan that we all had and to be the best player I can be.

“That’s why I came here, because it’s a physical league that has a lot of good technical players. It’s a challenge for me and I’m really looking forward to it. I think I did well in my first game and hopefully I can do more and next time we win.”

Koné was joined in Berkshire by a selection of talented young Hornets hoping to make an impression on Head Coach Slaven Bilić.

Despite being a younger member of the squad himself, the former CF Montréal man can recall breaking into the first-team himself, and looked to guide the Academy players accordingly.

He continued: “I was in their position not so long ago, and coming into the team it would be greedy not to help them. They have talent and we had a lot of young players playing in that game, but it was good for them to get those minutes and see what it was like.

“For me, it was good to help them and coach them in a way to be better in the game. I think they did well and we fought well.”

It was also Koné’s first experience in front of the travelling Watford supporters – something he won’t be forgetting in a hurry.

“I didn’t know they were that loud!” he added. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that loud. It was an experience and I really liked it.

“We also talk about the 12th man and it’s real. You can feel the passion and the fact they are behind us. It motivates us to perform and do well, and I was very happy to see that, but unfortunately we couldn’t give them what we wanted. We all fought and I hope they are proud of the way we played. I look forward to more.”