Chris Wilder has set out his ambitions for the remainder of a campaign that the Hornets’ new Head Coach hopes will end in promotion to the Premier League.
The 55-year-old, who was appointed earlier this week on a contract until the end of the 2022/23 season, discussed his coaching style, playing methods and more in an interview with the Watford Observer.
Read on for some of the key quotes.
ON HIS TARGETS
“I’ve signed to the end of the season, and I’d like our season to be ending by me walking up the steps at Wembley to get a trophy.
“I’ve got to isolate what I can affect and have an influence over in this 11-game period. I have to control the controllables.
“One thing to remember is that 11 games is very nearly a quarter of a season. People will look at the top two and think it’s done and dusted. I think top spot is, but not second place.”
ON THE OPPORTUNITY
“This is a great opportunity for me. I’m not naïve, I’m a bright guy and I know the history of the football club. Every club has its own model, and I know the model at Watford.
“When this chance came up I made the choice to come in for the final 11 games and hopefully galvanise a group of players who – putting our cards on the table – have under-performed.
“Watford should not be sat 10th in this division, but we have an opportunity all of us – supporters, players, staff, stakeholders and me – to kick-start things.
“What I’ve recognised is from a technical point of view we have one of the most talented groups of players in the division. From a physical perspective they’ve nearly all played in the Premier League, which is the most physical league in the world.
“Now I have to try and put a structure and mentality into the place to get us going.”
ON THE SUPPORTERS
“The support at Watford has always been good, but I have always believed it’s up to the players to light the fire in the bellies of the supporters.
“Hopefully that is what we do with the way we go about things, starting Saturday.”
ON MENTALITY
“We’re here to win games of football, and hopefully good players have that mentality.
“Being a good player isn’t just about being good technically. You have to have steel, a bit of fight and they have to run around and work hard within the structure. They need to rely on their teammates as much as their teammates rely on them.
“You have to be a group that shares the mentality, and if you are then you’ve got half a chance.”
ON PLAYING STYLE
“We’re a forward-thinking staff in terms of trying to dominate possession and trying to attack teams.
“The metrics at Middlesbrough will show that. From the xG [expected goals] point of view we were second in the division, even when the results weren’t there.
“Those stats do give you a bit of comfort, but the bottom line is I’m here to win games, and I’ve won games for the majority of my career wherever that has been. I want to win here.
“The people that have brought me here for these 11 games have been brilliant and supportive, and hopefully we can pay back in terms of helping the group of players.”
ON FORMATIONS
“There are many different ways of playing but you have to put your best players in their best positions. You put round pegs in round holes.
“I’ve got to get players who can win games of football at the top of the pitch. Am I going to leave four or five players at the top end, and defend with six? Well no, because all players have a part to play out of possession as much as they do when we have the ball.
“Similarly the boys behind those who play at the top of the pitch have got a part to play to build and dominate possession that hopefully results in chances being created.
“I’ve coached all different formations. I think people can be lazy sometimes and think ‘he’s 3-5-2’. I won promotion at Oxford United playing 4-3-3. We got 99 points at Northampton playing 4-2-3-1. At Sheffield United we played 3-4-1-2 and we got 100 points, then we tactically changed it when we got to the Premier League.
“I’ve coached every different shape and we’ll put the team in a shape we feel allows the boys to express themselves, put themselves in the best positions but while keeping a nice balance as we have to recognise there are two parts to the game.”
ON THE NEXT THREE GAMES
“If we can get out of the traps quickly on Saturday [against QPR] that’ll be great. I believe we’re taking about 3,000 supporters and they’ll be expecting a performance just as much as I will.
“Then we have two home games after that [against Birmingham City and Wigan], so three big games before the international break when we can re-set and do a bit more work.
“But if we do get things rolling in the right direction then other clubs will be thinking ‘oh, here they come, we’ve been expecting it’. I think the whole division has been expecting Watford to come through. As an outsider I was thinking ‘when are Watford going to catch fire?’ I kept waiting for Watford to get firing, winning one, then two, then three and going on a run.
“So we have to do that, go and win games and be positive with the right attitude. We need to win games and get points. That’s not impossible as we have the experience and we certainly have the talent.”
