If there was one word that was said more than any other when talking to Valerien Ismael on Tuesday, it was intensity.

Anyone watching Watford over the last two seasons might well need to look it up in a dictionary, as it was certainly not a description used often, if at all, when describing performances.

However, Ismael has become renowned for setting up teams to press high and look to get the ball back as quickly as possible.

Pre-season has been geared towards showing the players what he means by intensity, and it could manifest in a very different approach to that of recent seasons.

“Intensity is my main word. Intensity over everything,” he said.

“That is what we always need to put out on the pitch, if we are going to compete on the physical side with our opponents.

“We have the quality on the ball, so we are looking for the intensity, the high press, can we win the ball high up the pitch, and then when you win the ball can you play quickly or can we keep the ball if a chance is not on.

“I think from day one the players have understood the message. What we put across is that we expect them to work hard every day, and try to do things right in the way we expect.

“They have recognised, in the way that we train, that there is another way we want them to think about the drive and intensity we want in the squad.”

Last season, both Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilder referred to a lack of ‘condition’ in the Watford squad, which meant they often struggled to find intensity or maintain it if they did.

Furthermore, Bilic was bogged down in the winter by an injury list that regularly contained the word hamstring.

Ismael is aiming to avoid issues with condition while working to insure his players avoid picking up injuries.

“I have a different way to train, and I will see things in a different way. My way is another way,” he said.

“A lot of intensity, short times but really, really intense.

“We work very closely with the sport science department, and then we can communicate and prevent all the issues you can have with players.

“We control the load of the players: when we can put more load on them and when they need to rest.

“This has been my method for many, many years. In football, you will always have injuries, that’s always the case. But I think if you can reduce the number of injuries then that can only be good.

“So far the experiences here have been good, and we will continue to work so that we have the maximum availability of the players.

“When you have a fit squad then the quality of training is raised because everybody wants to play.

“If we hit the high spots in training then that is good for games, as we will have a squad that can compete.”

The three players who have arrived at Vicarage Road so far have been a 20-year-old (Matheus Martins), a 28-year-old (Rhys Healey) and a 31-year-old (Tom Ince).

Ismael said: “So far I think we have shown the way we want to work: a mix of young players with big potential, and experienced players who are hungry to prove something, and with the right mentality.

“We need the talent of the young players but we also need the experience of the older players to give us that balance in the squad.”

It’s normally around this time that Watford’s pre-season schedule would see them head overseas for a training camp and perhaps a friendly or two.

Not this year though. It’s seven consecutive weeks at London Colney instead.

“When you are new to a club you want to have a big advantage by implementing a new way to play, but this takes time,” Ismael explained.

“The more training sessions I have, the more time I have here with the players, the better it is for me and my staff.

“It gives us the time to implement the way we want to play, and that’s why we are having seven weeks here.”