With Watford in the midst of the third week of pre-season training, Valérien Ismaël has been impressed with the attitude and effort his players have shown during some demanding yet vitally important sessions.

The Head Coach has worked his squad hard at the Hornets’ London Colney training base, with double sessions most days as preparations for the 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship campaign gather pace.

“It’s been a good start,” said Ismaël. “I think we changed a lot of rules, we’ve changed the mindset, we changed the way to train, a lot of new things for the players and club, but I think the first reaction has been good.

“They’ve bought in and I think the intensity we want to put into the squad is good. It’s good to see that everyone understands the message.

“We for sure want to see a reaction from last season. It was not a good season, it was not the expectation from everyone, so now we just want to change the mindset to make sure we do the right thing.”

While the majority of players returned for pre-season on Monday June 19, some have been reporting later due to international commitments and Ismaël has taken the opportunity to get to know several of the club’s future prospects as well as the more experienced professionals.

Brazilian youngster Matheus Martins re-signed on loan on Tuesday (July 4) to become the third arrival of the summer transfer window - after fellow forwards Rhys Healey and Tom Ince - and Ismaël is encouraged by each of the trio’s contributions behind the scenes so far.

“We try to have a large overview on the squad,” he said. “Even with the younger lads from the Under-21s, we try to invite them to train with us.

“I need a big picture from all the players. Some players are not ready or 100 per cent, we are missing some players, but at some point we will be all together and then we will start to select. At the minute it’s all about getting all the players together, to work with the other players and to give them a chance to show up.

“I think we’ve shown the quality we’re looking for with the three players who have come in so far. Each of them brings something to the squad, and overall we are pleased because we are moving in the market, but not too quickly. We have time to give our players the chance to show up, and then make decisions about what we need to do.”

As well as the crucial work being done on physical fitness, Ismaël has been educating his players on the playing methods he plans to employ in 2023/24, with support from new-look backroom team Dean Whitehead, Omer Riza and Jack Riley.

“Each of the guys [Whitehead, Riza and Riley] play an important role in helping me to get my ideas across,” the 47-year-old said. “Dean is important for reinforcing the message to the players, as well as working on set-pieces, Omer has the inside knowledge having been here for a number of years, and Jack’s work with videos and analysis ensures everyone has the information they need at individual and team level.

“We started on the philosophy last week. The understanding was there straight away and now we start to build up the momentum for the players to make sure that we implement the way to play as good as we can.

“It’s clear we want to have that intensity on the pitch. We want to win the ball high, but at the same time when we gain the ball or when we are in possession, we love the possession a lot and we want to have the creativity, the ID to create chances, and actually to be a complete team out of possession and in possession.”

The next stage of pre-season sees Ismaël and his Golden Boys embark on a trip to National League outfit Boreham Wood on Wednesday evening (July 5, 7.30pm KO), in their first friendly outing of the summer.

The former France youth international is looking forward to seeing the squad’s endeavours put into play on the grass for the first time at Meadow Park, while he is also relishing the opportunity to meet the Watford supporters for the first time.

He added: “I think the main thing at Boreham Wood will be seeing where we’re at after two-and-a-half weeks, and what we need to work on. There’ll be different challenges throughout the season - and I think in this game a lot of it will be about finding solutions in possession - but it will be good just to get that game feeling, get feedback from the players and assess our progress.

“It will be good to meet all the fans for the first time, as well. I’m sure we can all enjoy the game, and hopefully we come away from it without any injury problems!”

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