Vladimir Ivić says he expects some of the players who were missing against Middlesbrough on Friday to be available for tomorrow night’s trip to Oxford United.
The Hornets’ Head Coach will make changes for the Carabao Cup second-round tie as he wishes to protect his squad following an unusually short pre-season schedule.
“Some of them [the unavailable players] will be with us for the next game and some of the players who played the last game will be out,” said Ivić, speaking to the press this afternoon.
“We will not be complete, but this is the reality and we need to take care of them because pre-season was not as long as we would like it to be.
“Some of them are not ready to play three games a week, so we need to protect them and give the chance to some other guys who will be ready for this game.”
Former Academy Player of the Season Dan Phillips made his professional debut as a late substitute against Middlesbrough, and Ivić expects his squad at the Kassam Stadium to include further youngsters.
“It’s a good chance for the young players,” he said.
“We’ve had a few of them working with us over the past three weeks, they work hard and they are disciplined guys who follow the instructions and have quality. Some of them will get the chance and then everything depends on them.”
One player not yet ready is Troy Deeney, but Ivić does hope the striker will be able to return to first-team training very soon.
“Troy has been outside [the group] the last two-and-a-half weeks. He started pre-season with us but has been out since the first week,” he said.
“I hope he will be with us in the next days, but I need to speak with him and the medical staff about which day exactly he will start.”
The winners will visit Newport County or Cambridge United in the third round next week, and Ivić insists the Carabao Cup is a competition he will be taking seriously.
“For us, every game is a priority,” said the Serbian.
“Every game is important and every opponent is one who we need to respect, but we also need to fight to win the game. This is my philosophy, and this is what I am asking from my players.”
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