Valérien Ismaël spoke to the media ahead of Watford’s encounter with Sheffield Wednesday at Vicarage Road on Saturday (October 21, 3pm KO), with the Hornets looking to bounce back following a two-week international break.
Covering a range of topics, including team news ahead of the Sky Bet Championship fixture, and his thoughts on the Owls, read what the Head Coach had to say below…
On the game against Sheffield Wednesday:
For us, it’s always about the performance. We need to have that identity, we need to feel it and we need to put it into our game. At the same time, we need to perform to get the points because this is why we do the job. This is our focus. If we do it right, if we put in the performance and if the decision making is right, then we have a chance.
I know Danny Röhl’s name and his career so far. I think it’s clear to see that Sheffield Wednesday want to create an identity and a way to play and this is what we will face. For us, we take the games one by one and it’s a home game. We will play in front of our fans and we want to put in a performance from minute one with the intensity we need.
It’s always difficult to prepare [against a new manager], but we have some information and we are prepared. We have an idea because it’s our job to be prepared. The most important thing though is our own performance and our own decisions. We have a big desire to get it right and do everything through the 90 minutes to bring our fans some happiness.
On team news ahead of the match:
Francisco Sierralta came from the Cardiff City match with a light muscle injury. He was out for 10 days and he came back yesterday and trained with the squad. He will be available, but we will assess him again today to see if it is enough to start tomorrow.
The squad is looking really good. I think it’s the first time that we have got all the players available, with only Ryan Andrews missing because of the red card, but he is fit. Otherwise, all the players are back.
On the squad’s fitness:
When I got in yesterday and sorted out all the players who were available for the training session, that side was full and the unavailable side was empty. It means there is more quality in the training session and we have all the natural behaviours we need to prepare for a game. We have that high level of competition in the squad, the players want to be in the squad and they want to play the games.
We are working very closely with our medical staff. We trust in their work and we assess with them how far we can push the players. If we can’t push them, then we have to accept that and be patient. It depends on the situation throughout the season. At the minute we don’t need to rush or force anything with any players. If you can get 100 per cent from the players in the training session, then you raise the quality of the session and the quality of the game. The more quality you have then the more chance you have to win a game.
On learning from the previous matches:
We learned from the first block of games because after that they came back tired and we saw in the games that the spark wasn’t there and there were too many mistakes. When we assessed the previous block, we recognised that it had a lot to do with tiredness, so now we have changed. We have changed the schedule, especially for the players who were away with their national team, just to make sure they can refresh. We had a light session [on Thursday] and today (Friday October 20) will be the first session with everyone. You can see straight away the benefit in the eyes of the players. If I compare it to the last time they came back to now, it’s different.
Since I have been here we have tried a few different things to see what is more suitable for the team and the players. In some situations, we have taken decisions to see how the team would react. We have a lot of options, and we are more flexible. We have a lot of creative players in the squad and we have the ability to play with more solid and energetic players. I love when you have the flexibility in your decision making.
Follow Live!
Domestic and overseas supporters can access live coverage of Watford v Sheffield Wednesday, via the Hornets’ Hive Live streaming service.
Click HERE for more information on how to follow the Sky Bet Championship clash from home.
