Dean Whitehead arrived at London Colney in the summer to find a dressing room where players thought 'I'll do my own thing'
The quantum shift in mentality at Watford’s training ground since Valerien Ismael became head coach this summer has been discussed before.
“Players turning up when they wanted to turn up. People thinking it would be alright, hand over a few quid in a fine, and everything would be good. “When you’re trying to build a culture and a mentality in a club that wants to move forward, those things are so important,” said Whitehead. Whitehead also echoed the head coach’s words about the need to pare back the numbers at London Colney, both in terms of players and staff.
Whitehead agrees that only now is some of that toil starting to show through on the pitch – not only that, but also in a very empty medical room. Last season was a story of injuries and backbone , and Whitehead saw the latter for himself in April when, as Cardiff’s interim manager, he brought the Bluebirds to Vicarage Road.“Watford went ahead with a really good goal, but the minute we got level the towel got thrown in,” he recalled.“You’d look around the pitch and see all these really good individual players in Watford shirts, like Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr, and you’d think ‘what could they have been’.
“He’s imposing, he’s assertive, he’s disciplined. He is really good at organising and bringing a group together. One decision that has divided fans has been the style of play, and particularly the way Watford keep the ball at the back and inside their own half. The other area where Watford have been guilty of self-inflicted wounding is their defending of set pieces, particularly corners – and the use of zonal marking.
“It’s something we have spoken about as a group over the last few weeks. Our open play XG is second in the league, teams aren’t opening us up. Whitehead and the other staff were in the changing room, and the assistant head coach feels that while it was miserable night, it could also be a blessing in disguise.
“Some of it was really interesting, a lot of it was really useful, but also I hope it’s the last time we have to have one of those.”Eight points from a possible 12, three clean sheets and a lesser-spotted away win later and, while Watford are still nearer the bottom of the table than the top, there have been steps in the right direction.
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