Hornets youngsters Albert Eames and Zavier Massiah-Edwards spoke to watfordfc.com after making their professional debuts in the final-day defeat at Middlesbrough.
The teenage pair were introduced together during stoppage time at the Riverside Stadium, meaning Watford fielded five Academy products during the afternoon, with Ryan Andrews, James Morris and Jack Grieves also getting game-time.
Read what 18-year-old defender Eames and 17-year-old forward Massiah-Edwards had to say below…
Eames
I’m absolutely delighted. We’ve both been working up to this since we were young boys so to actually make it…! The away fans were very good today, the only thing was the result but we’re looking forward to next season now.
The boys break up now for the off-season, so I think [it’ll sink in] during the next couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard since I was a young boy and I’ve been training for the last six to eight weeks with the first team, so to finally make my debut it’s a very good moment.
When you’re on the ball [in the Championship] they’re shutting you down a lot quicker, they’re stronger, they think quicker and they’re more intelligent. We’ve been playing Under-18s and 21s football for most of the season so having made the step up now, hopefully we can get more opportunities in the future.
All the boys have given us a very warm welcome and we’re just looking forward to next season. We’ve both been on the bench a couple of times and we’ve been in and around the squad maybe four or five times, so to make our debut at the same time was a very nice moment.
We thank the fans a lot; they come up and down the country all season. It’s a shame about the result but we push for next season now.
Massiah-Edwards
I’m very happy to make my debut; I can’t really believe it. Obviously with the loss it’s not great but we’ll come back next season, I’m sure Clevs will keep pushing us and hopefully we’ll get some more opportunities.
When I’m on the bus, looking at all my messages, it’s probably going to sink in once I see all of them.
Physically it’s very important that you’ve got to be strong and decision making has to be a lot quicker [in the Championship]. Fitness is also key but training every day with the first team helps.
Everyone made us feel welcome and Clevs has definitely helped since he came in, he pushed us straight away and got us involved. It helped not just us but other people who want to be around the first team. Everyone’s been supportive.
This season we’ve both trained with the first team quite a lot and we’ve both been on the same journey, getting used to it, so it was nice for both of us to get that achievement together.
The fans definitely helped with making us feel welcome and they’ve travelled all this way, which is amazing really.
