Head Coach Rob Edwards is anticipating a tough test against fellow unbeaten side Preston North End in the Sky Bet Championship, ahead of Watford’s trip to Deepdale on Saturday (August 20, 3pm KO).

Ryan Lowe’s Lilywhites are yet to concede a goal in league competition and sit in seventh place going into the fifth game of the season. Edwards was in attendance at a recent Preston fixture, and knows all about the strengths of the Hornets’ upcoming opponents.

“They’re very well coached,” Edwards said. “They’ve had four clean sheets which indicates they’re very difficult to break down, but not only that, they’ve got a distinct way of playing, and some good footballers as well.

“I went to watch them last week and I liked them. They’ve got characters in there, resilience and all of those things you’d expect from a Championship team, but they’ve got a good way about them as well. It’s going to be a really tough game.”

Reflecting on the opening four games, the Welshman is satisfied with the start to the campaign, after the Golden Boys picked up two 1-0 wins at home and two 1-1 draws on their travels. Edwards knows there is more to come from his side, and sees a driven group on and off the pitch.

“I’m pleased with the fact that we’ve had a couple of home wins, a couple of clean sheets, and we’ve shown moments in game one and game four of control, and there was a good performance level,” explained Edwards.

“In the game against West Brom especially, we had to show a lot of fight and resilience, and showed when we’re not at our best we can get a point at a very difficult place, and Burnley there was a bit of both.

“We’re showing different sides to our game, which is what we’re going to need, and I know there’s more to come from the group because we’re still learning and growing together, and working extremely hard every day with a commitment to getting better.”

Rey Manaj got the decisive touch to score Watford’s equaliser against Birmingham City on Tuesday night, netting his first goal for the club. Edwards has already seen an improvement in the Hornets’ attacking movement and chance creation, and is excited to see further progress.

“We know there are goals in the team, so it’s down to me and all the guys to make sure we’re creating chances and getting in good positions to score goals,” the 39-year-old continued. “That’s an area we still need to work on. There was an improvement on Tuesday night in terms of getting the ball into dangerous areas, and we know we’ve got goalscorers.”

Yáser Asprilla made his first start in the same game, turning heads with his energy and creativity in midfield. Displaying maturity beyond his 18 years, his boss waxed lyrical about the young Colombian.

Edwards added: “He proved himself against Burnley when he came on. In that game they were starting to press, and we went down to 10 men, so I worked out very quickly that we could trust him. I knew that before, I knew from training and pre-season but it was great to be able to see it in front of 20,000 people under difficult circumstances.

“On Tuesday night he showed loads of quality, character and a belief. He’s still trying to learn the language and there are lots of things going on - he thought it was a 3pm kick-off, bless him! He was so excited that he couldn’t wait for the game.

“He’s a brilliant young lad and we’re really excited about where he can go. I do have to stress that we need to be patient and manage him properly. Expectations are high and it’s important we don’t put too much pressure on him because he’s a young player in a new country dealing with a lot of change. It's important we get behind him and support him, but allow him to grow and flourish in his natural way.”

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