Valerien Ismael: Watford boss expects intensity and an ability to adapt
- Published
Valerien Ismael is often an animated figure on the touchline
Watford boss Valerien Ismael says he is expecting intensity and an ability to adapt from his team next season.
The 47-year-old former Barnsley and West Brom head coach was appointed in May following a spell in Turkish football with Besiktas.
He is now assessing the strength of his squad after the Hornets finished 11th in the Championship last term.
"It's a reboot for everyone, without any [pre] judgement" Ismael told BBC Three Counties Radio.
"It's just what we see in our daily work with the players. Which player is able to do the job, which player is not."
Watford - who were relegated from the Premier League in 2021-22 - have signed Rhys Healey and Tom Ince, and brought Brazilian midfielder Matheus Martins back to Vicarage Road on a season-long loan.
And Ismael says there isno rush to make further signings, with a month to go before their opening game against QPR on 5 August.
"I want to see players who are hungry, who have the desire to work hard. We want to change - and we will change the mindset - from the squad and, regardless of the name of the player, we need to have the right players," he continued.
"We are in transition and will use the transfer window and the summer to get that transition right.
"We expect players to come in, we expect players to leave, we will see, we've got 25 players, everyone wants to play, at some point you will have to take decisions on the players that are not involved, it is a normal process in the pre-season."
Ismael led Barnsley to the Championship play-offs in 2021 but lasted only eight months at West Brom, where his preferred playing style attracted criticism from fans, before leaving with the team fifth in the table.
He is Watford's 10th head coach since 2018 and seventh since the end of the 2020-21 season.
"It's an intense period, pre-season, but I'm very satisfied and delighted to be here. Now it's all about building a momentum, to create the squad that will compete this season, and at the same time implement the principles we want to see on the pitch and to assess all the players, and learn about all the people that work around the club. This is my job the last few weeks," the Frenchman said.
Asked about the style he would expect from Watford, he replied: "Intensity is my word over everything, it is what we always need to put on the pitch. To compete on the physical side with the opponent and after [we do that], know we've got the quality with the ball."
But he added: "At Barnsley, it was lockdown time, the schedule was so tight, we played every three days, the pitches were not great, so we just had to make the right decision that suited the team best.
"When you take [charge at] another club, it's something different. At Besiktas, we had a lot of possession.
"Now with Watford it will be a mix of both at some points. Some games we'll have the ball a lot, and sometimes maybe we have to chase the ball and put the opponents under pressure.
"You have to be adaptable in the Championship, it has its own rules."
'Time for club to listen to head coach' - Analysis
BBC Three Counties Radio sports editor Geoff Doyle
Like other Watford head coaches before him, Valerien Ismael will try to stamp his own authority on the Hornets.
We know that he likes to play with a high intensity, a high press and then move the ball quickly to mount attacks. He had success with this at Barnsley.
The question is can he persuade the Watford board to get the players in that can do that? Last season pressing high wasn't the team's strong point.
But a number of first-team players have now gone and Watford are in transition.
This is the ideal time for owner Gino Pozzo to listen to his head coach and back him in the direction Ismael wants to take the club. As ever with Watford, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.