Javi Gracia was not shy in admitting at his unveiling today that he does know how long he will be in charge of Watford or whether Troy Deeney will be at the club beyond the January transfer window.
Gracia is the fifth manager at Vicarage Road in little more than three years and has insisted on English being used in the dressing room, as he did when he coached Rubin Kazan. His wife and three sons have remained in Malaga.
Does he consider Watford a long-term project?
“I’d like to be here a long time but I don’t know. Coaches’ lives many times depend on many things, results, but I like it a lot. I am confident. But you never know what happens in the future. I think Watford is a nice place and Watford is a really good club and I really feel very comfortable. People are very nice. We need to get good results because the coach leaves due to results.
“I knew when I came [about Watford’s past]. You don’t know what happened in other situations when you take a [job]. But I am confident I am different and can do it. I have confidence in my job.”
What is the future of Deeney?
“I don’t know what will happen in the future. I tell you again, there are other people working on these situations and I focus on my job. I don’t know what happens with players’ situations. Maybe one of them will go out. Maybe others go in. I don’t know. But I said the truth. I don’t know anything else about this situation. I don’t have time to prepare my job the best way. I don’t waste my time on other things. There are many other people in the club you can ask [about it].”
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What style will his team play?
“I like to win first of all, I like to win. There are many ways to win. I’m Spanish then it is possible my experience in that country as a player first and as coach after, maybe I have that influence. I can say many words but the most important thing for me is to play well because if you play well you have more options to win. What is to play well, that is next. Then you can have a balance between good defence and good attack, good transitions, set pieces, dominate all different phases of the play.
“In Spain there are different styles too. Everyone speaks about passing games and attractive [football]. The game is a balance between many things, not only good passes. Good defence, good transition, many things. To be competitive you need to do many things well.”