Summary

  • Watford head coach Tom Cleverley was in the hot seat with BBC Three Counties Radio

  • The Hornets kick off their Championship campaign at 12:30 on Saturday away to Millwall

  • They will be hoping for a return to the Premier League after relegation from the top flight in 2022

Live Reporting

  1. A hot seat special with Watford head coach, Tom Cleverley

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    The Hornets' boss was taking questions about the upcoming season.

    The hour-long chat was a fascinating chance to hear what the former Manchester United midfielder has planned for the season, including the challenges of bringing in new signings before the transfer window closes.

    "Mediocre is not acceptable" Cleverley tells the BBC team of Geoff Doyle and Derek Payne.

  2. Analysis: A tricky summer for the Hornets

    Geoff Doyle
    BBC Three Counties Radio sport

    It was always likely to be a tricky summer for Watford with the Premier League parachute payments now over.

    The Hornets would have been banking on promotion in the two years of receiving it but they never got close on either occasion and so became one of the "normal" Championship clubs.

    That makes life even more difficult reflected in what has so far been a frustrating summer in the transfer market with talented midfielder Ismael Kone leaving and marquee attacker Yaser Asprilla about to follow him out the door which will seriously affect Watford’s attacking threat.

    There is also concern that defender and player of the season Wes Hoedt could go too. The club will make a big chunk of cash selling these two or three but not much of it will get spent on new signings.

    Young striker Rocco Vata has shown signs of promise pre-season while others in have been loans and freebies.

  3. Analysis: Watford's Hopes for the coming season

    George Litchfield
    BBC Three Counties Radio sport

    It’s difficult to know exactly what to expect from the Hornets this season, the first in which the club will receive no parachute payments since their most recent relegation from the Premier League.

    Tom Cleverley replaced former boss Valérien Ismaël in March, with the club 13th, seven points from the relegation zone.

    Despite some promising results including draws against Leeds and Ipswich, the Hornets still only finished six points above 22nd placed Birmingham last season.

    A fairly underwhelming transfer window so far does little to relieve fears that this could be a really tricky season for Tom Cleverley’s side.

    Watford still have some good players - with former player Moussa Sissoko rejoining and Giorgi Chakvetadze coming off the back of some brilliant performances in the Euros.

    But success this season could be avoiding any scrap at the bottom of the table, rather than looking to be towards the top of it.