You have to go back to August 2019 to find the last time Watford started a new season with the same head coach as they had started the previous one.

That was Javi Gracia, who was head coach both in August 2018 and 2019, though his tenure lasted just four games into the 2019/20 season.

Before that, Gianfranco Zola was in the hot seat at the start of both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns, meaning that only twice under the ownership of the Pozzo family have Watford started successive seasons with the same coach.

Valerien Ismael has his hand on the rudder this time, and who knows if he will still be charting Watford’s course in May.

However, when asked what his message would be to the many Watford fans weary at the consistently high turnover of those in his position but getting ready for the new season, he was very clear in his aims and objectives.

“In football you are never, ever guaranteed anything, but what I can say is that we will have a team that will work hard on the pitch,” he said.

“My team will have intensity. My team will try to win every game. My team will try to make chances and I will be sure that when they leave the pitch, they'll feel they have left everything out there.

“My experience shows when you do that, then you will win more games than you will lose.

“It enables you to start to win with consistency, and if you are winning with consistency then you can compete at the higher levels.”

However, with the first game of the season against QPR still more than four weeks away, the head coach is keen to insure he builds up to the 2023/24 campaign steadily.

“At the minute it’s just one step, which is to work hard in pre-season and make sure we are ready,” he said.

“Going into the season with not a lot of injuries, or no injuries, would be perfect.

“To find the right players for what we need, and then to start the season well will be really important.

“After all that, then what we will need is to build momentum. When you win games with consistency that gives you this momentum.”

Ismael has a track record of making good starts in his recent managerial jobs.

He lost only one of his first eight at Besiktas, before beginning the next season with four wins from five.

He topped with table with West Brom in September 2021 after going unbeaten in the first 10 league games.

When he took over at Barnsley he won four of his first five, and he won his opening six games at Austrian side LASK which included three Champions League qualifiers.

Experience tells Ismael, though, that as well as a good start you need to find consistency quickly.

“The Championship is a long run,” he admitted.

“You have to try and stay consistent always, get yourself into a good position, and then at the end of the season you can make the sprint you need to reach your goals.

“That is far away at the minute, so as I said for now it is step by step. The first thing is a good pre-season, implementing the way to play and the mindset we want, and then a good start to the season.

“If you achieve that and you create a good feeling, then you can start to look for momentum.”