Signing the captain of one of the teams you will be facing in the new season is quite a coup for newly-promoted Watford Women.

Harley Bennett had been the skipper of London City Lionesses in the Championship for the last two seasons until she made the switch to Vicarage Road earlier in the summer.

And the 33-year-old defender said the ambition and vision of head coach Damon Lathrope convinced her to become a Golden Girl.

“I came on board because of the conversations I have with Damon. He said straight away this season wasn’t about surviving,” said said.

“I believe that, particularly having seen how we’ve trained and how we’ve played in pre-season.

“We have competed against some really good sides already, and it’s about us gelling as a team now.

“My goal for this season is top five, and I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.”

That’s bold talk from a player who knows the Championship inside out, but the fact she was prepared to leave an established second-tier side to join a newly-promoted club is testament to what Lathrope and his staff are doing at Watford.

“It says a lot about Watford and a lot about Damon,” Bennett said.

 “I watched some of the Watford games and I was really impressed by the style of play.

“Damon made a really good impression on me and I was super excited to come and be a part of it.

“I’ve been really impressed with the standard of training and the players we have, so as much as it is a step up the team is very ready to compete in the Championship.”

Much is made of the difference in standard between the National League and the Championship, and with her wealth of experience Bennett is well placed to judge.

“I think the gap between division is closing, but in general it is still quite a big step up,” she said.

“It’s probably a bit of tactical and a bit of physical. Being full-time and training every day is going to enable you to be quicker and faster, and you have more time to work on things.

“Tactically, the Championship is just that bit more advanced.”

As well the success they enjoyed last season, one of the most satisfying factors in what Watford achieved was the way they did it.

Their style of play was easy on the eye, and their brand of football saw the ball moved around on the floor patiently, often against opponents who were very much more direct.

Can that style of play be successful against the better teams in the Championship?

“You’ll come up against different things in this league. Teams might play a low block or a high press, and it’s about us adapting to each game,” Bennett explained.

“The more we play together and get used to the intensity and the difference in this league we’ll just get better and better.

“I think we’ll kind of work out what to do ourselves.”

Bennett arrives at Watford having captained London City for two seasons, and just as the Hornets welcome new skipper Megan Chandler after the retirement of Helen Ward.

“I’ve come from a team where as much as I was captain, we had different leaders that brought different things to the table,” said Bennett.

“Very much I will try to help Meg out as much as I can, and I’ll try to help the rest of the team out as much as I can.

“Naturally I am quite vocal, I like to organise and communicate with players around me, so I will do that to help the team.”

Although she’s 5ft 6ins, Bennett looks taller and cuts an imposing figure who will make her presence felt at set pieces.

“We’ve talked a lot about set pieces, both attacking and defending, and how much of a difference the small margins can make,” she said.

“Hopefully I can help the team at both ends of the pitch. I like to get my nugget on a few headers!

“I’ll be doing what I can to help defensively, but I’ll be looking to score a few down the other end.”