Preview: Ismaël On Cardiff City & Transfer Window

Valérien Ismaël spoke to the media ahead of Watford’s Sky Bet Championship clash against Cardiff City tomorrow (Saturday February 3, 3pm KO), as well as discussing the closure of the transfer window.

Read what he had to say below...

On the first home game in the Championship since December 29:

We have had four away league games in a row now. We are looking forward to playing at home in front of our fans and on a perfect pitch. I think it’s an important step for us.

Now we are in February and it’s all about getting the results and to build on our last home game with Southampton in the FA Cup, which I think was a really good game. We need to make sure that we continue to push forward.

On Cardiff City:

It's clear to see it will be a physical game. Cardiff are very strong on set-pieces, it's the main threat for them. So we have to defend well.

But we have a home game and we are focused on ourselves and what we have to do to put our energy on the pitch, our quality on the ball and to continue to create chances.

We need to make the next step and be more ruthless in the opponent’s half. We need to reduce the amount of chances we need to get a goal and make sure we can score with our first chance.

On Edo Kayembe and Jeremy Ngakia:

We have no new injuries after the game with Sheffield Wednesday. Edo Kayembe looks very good and we expect him to be back next week with the team. Ngakia as well; he could be back next week. For sure he will need time but at least we will have him in the training sessions.

On missing out on a defender and holding midfielder in the transfer window:

We worked on a target player until the very last minute; we made an offer. But the club turned down the offer so that’s why we didn’t get the player we wanted. It was a defender and a holding midfielder, with one a bid and one a loan.

[The transfer window] was calm and precise. We were really calm as we knew exactly what we wanted. We have to believe in a transfer. We wanted to make the next step but not only for January. We had the possibility but it didn’t work out. For us it was the right player but it confirmed we have to stay that way. If we get that feeling we have to do everything in our power to get the player, but if it's one per cent feeling less then it's better for us to leave it and to give the trust to our players.

I’m not disappointed [to miss out] because I got the support from the Board, we made it together, the Board understood what we tried to do. They gave all the support, even on the financial side to try and get what we wanted.

I got that trust on both sides. If I get that feeling it’s not the right player, it’s better to stay as we are. I am very protective with the togetherness we create. If you pick the wrong player, one player can destroy everything in the changing room and that’s why I’m very protective.

On squad size:

I like to play with players who can play in two or three positions and make us flexible, and you can work with a decent size of players in the squad.

When everyone is avaliable you will have one or two out of the squad. You will always get one or two players injured throughout the season. The danger is if you have everyone available and you have five or six players on the bench or even in the stands.

Then you create problems within the squad, and you need to manage that problem more than any problems on the pitch. This is what we want to avoid. We create a team-first mentality and to create that you need first to work closely with your players.

On players turning down the chance to leave:

Some players had offers to leave but they wanted to stay, which shows the togetherness we create within the team. I think this window shows the big foundation we created since the summer.

The players feel confident. We know that we need everyone and everyone gets the chance to play at some point, you just need to be patient.

I believe the players believe what we are saying to them, they see that on the pitch and now they are more patient and more fighting and the spirit within the team is excellent.

That’s the best thing for a player. The club is a fantastic club, we are fighting for a play-off spot and there is quality in the squad, so I can understand why the players want to stay.

On young players:

When you play with young players it’s always a bumpy road. They will put in performances, we know they have the talent, but sometimes you have to be patient as the decision-making is not stable at that level and that's what we are trying to create.

We give the chance now to our players to perform. They will play with consistency at a high level but they need games to do it, to make mistakes and go again.