SCUNTHORPE United will be the visitors at the Vic on Saturday afternoon, hoping to continue their good form after turning over FA Cup finalists Cardiff City last weekend.

Despite having their relegation sealed already to League One, manager Nigel Adkins is remaining upbeat and taking the positives from a season in the Championship.

With a young squad at his disposal, he believes the experience of playing against some top sides this campaign will serve his men well in the long term.

Prior to last weekend, the Irons hadn't won in six games, they currently sit second from bottom on 42 points.

But the Glanford Park side have the ability to bounce straight back and will want to leave the Championship on a high.

This was the Irons' first season in the second tier of English football following a 43 year absence, having won the League One title last year.

The team notched an impressive 91 points, with former striker Billy Sharpe scoring a remarkable 30 league goals.

Sharpe's fine form earned him a £2m move to his former club Sheffield United. The transfer left the Irons without a leading marksman after loanee Jermaine Beckford returned to his parent club Leeds United.

This season Martin Paterson has shown his value to the club and leads the scoring charts with 13 league goals to his name so far this campaign.

Scunny boss Nigel Adkins

Adkins has managed to keep hold of his squad since the departure of Sharp, so the Irons are well placed to bounce straight back next term under his stewardship. 

The Scunthorpe boss had previously held the role of physio for the Irons before being appointed caretaker manager by Chairman Steve Wharton, following the departure of Brian Laws to Sheffield Wednesday in November 2006.

A month later, after three straight wins, Adkins was placed as the permanent manager. The Irons were crowned League One champions with three games to spare.

Atkins was a goalkeeper during his playing days, and while player-manager of Bangor he guided them to two League of Wales titles.

They have impressive wins under their belt this campaign having overcome promotion chasing Plymouth and Charlton at Glanford Park.

Andy Butler has been one of the biggest success stories from this Championship campaign, as he has over two injury hit years to form a solid partnership with Andy Crosby.

The Irons are more than capable of causing an upset, as leading marksman Martin Paterson hunts for more goals to add to his 13 this season.

TEAM NEWS
Leading scorer Paterson misses the final two league games of the season after seeing a consultant in Manchester about a hernia injury.

Meanwhile captain Crosby is out of the trip to the Vic after having an injection on his knee. Midfielder Jim Goodwin has had treatment on his hamstring while loanee defender Jack Hobbs is struggling with a groin injury.

Adding to their woes, defensive duo Izzy Iriekpen and Butler have both received treatment on their knocks this week. Finally Grant McCann is unavailable for personal reasons.

HEAD TO HEAD
The two teams have met a total of 17 times in league matches following the first encounter in the old English 3rd Division in 1965 where the Irons were overturned by the 'Orns 5-0.

The head to head stats are in Watford's favour as they hold 11 league wins to their name compared to the Irons' three.

The two teams have only met once outside a league match and that was in the FA Cup back in 1938, which ended with a 2-1 away win for Watford.

Watford will be hoping for a similar result as the last one played on the same date of 26 April in 1966, when the Golden Boys beat the Irons at the Vic by two goals to one.

LAST TIME THE TEAMS MET
It was early October at Glanford Park with both teams having impressive starts to the season respectively. The Irons sat in 11th position having had a steady start to their Championship campaign.

Meanwhile, the 'Orns were flying at the top of the league, four points clear of second place Charlton following their relegation from the top tier.

The Hornets came out 3-1 winners on the day. The goals were scored by on loan winger Adam Johnson, Marlon King and Darius Henderson. Jonathon Forte earlier equalised for Adkins's men.

HORNETSBET
Home win - 4/9
Away win - 13/2
Draw - 16/5

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