The Local Lowdown: Watford

Last season saw Watford finish 11th in their first year back in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League. How was that campaign viewed by the club and fans?

In a word, dismal. Any relegated team fancies their chances, and Watford did get as high as fourth. But generally it was a painful watch with a team that didn’t have much spirit or backbone.

Having three different head coaches didn’t help, and even though mathematically there was still a chance of reaching the play-offs until the last few weeks, anyone watching the games would have realised it was never going to happen.

After going through three bosses last season, Valérien Ismaël has been in post since the summer. What sort of impact has he made?

It’s been a season of two distinct parts so far. Watford beat QPR 4-0 on the opening day, but won only two of their first 10 and, despite a massive player turnover in the summer, many of the hallmarks of last season still lingered.

It came to a head after a particularly abject 2-0 defeat at Sunderland which left Watford one place and one point above the relegation zone. Ismaël and his players had an hour-long meeting in the dressing room that night, with each person having their say about what was going wrong and how to correct it.

Since then, it’s been one defeat in nine and Watford have looked a better team with every game. Great mentality, hard-working, solid at the back and creating chances up front. There’s still a lot that could be improved upon, but Ismaël said it would be a process to change course from last season, so it’s inevitable his side are not the finished article.

Watford boss Valérien Ismaël has overseen a run of one defeat in nine games ahead of Saturday's clash with Saints

How would you rate Watford’s promotion prospects?

Play-offs at the very best. After such a grim previous season, selling £50million worth of players in the summer, having a high turnover in the summer and playing in a totally different style under another new coach, it’s unlikely too many Watford fans even considered the p-word this season – and there will be plenty who still don’t.

The win at Hull last week started a run of hard games – including this one – after which Watford fans might have a better idea if they can even contemplate being involved.

Who are the players for Saints to watch out for?

Strangely enough, the oldest player has been the real star of the current good run – Jake Livermore. He’s been a colossus in midfield, shoring things up and shielding the defence.

Watford have a good track record of finding young talent in South America (Richarlison, João Pedro etc) and in 20-year-old Colombian Yáser Asprilla they may have found another star.

He’s fast, he’s skilful and he’s properly settled into English football now. Keep an eye out for Ismaël Koné in midfield too: a young Canadian international who has been in great form of late.

The impressive Canadian Ismaël Koné (left) celebrates with Mileta Rajović

What sort of atmosphere should the travelling Saints fans expect at Vicarage Road?

Our fans are very loyal and committed, but probably not the noisiest you’ll encounter on your travels. Having said that, the improvement in performances has turned the sound levels up a bit recently. But after two really poor seasons, the fans have every right to expect the team to lift them.

How do you see Saturday’s game going, and how will Ismaël’s side approach it?

Under Ismaël, Watford are very possession based. They are happy to move the ball around, sideways and backwards, and wait for an opportunity to go forward.

There has been a feeling that they have shown too much respect, even a bit of fear, when playing the better sides in the division, but that was certainly not the case at Hull last week.

They are full of confidence because of the good run, and only Ipswich and Plymouth have scored more goals at home than Watford.