The departure of Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr in the summer left two distinct holes in the Watford starting XI from last season, but Valerien Ismael said it also means there is no hiding place for his players.

Pedro was, at times, a one-man team last season while Sarr was regularly mentioned by opposition managers as a player they feared even if his performances didn’t always rise to those heights.

“The challenge is that you have to deal with the past,” said Ismael.

“I think it is important for everyone to understand where we have come from. There has been a massive change in mentality at the club.

“In the past you had key players: Ismaila Sarr and Joao Pedro.

“Over the years, Watford didn’t always play well but they won games because those two players made the difference.

“They could, in just one moment in the game, make the difference.

“So the other guys could just stay behind and do their jobs. They could say ‘ok, we can rely on Sarr, we can rely on Joao Pedro’.

“Now those players are gone, and those who are here need to stand up.

“They have to take responsibility. They have to make good performances. It is now for them to make the difference.

“They have realised ‘the spotlight is on me now’. And now, in this process, they need to understand there is no Ismaila Sarr, there is no Joao Pedro. Now you are the guys who need to step up.

“Through the new mentality within the team we can see when everyone is not 100 per cent immediately. But last season, if the team wasn’t 100 per cent that doesn’t matter because we’ve got the players like Sarr and like Pedro who can make the difference.

“The players have to understand the process we are going through. They have to see that there is now no possibility to hide.

“Before, if there was a period where we were not winning games, players knew other players could win the game for us.

“Now if you are in the team then you are the guy who has to win the game for Watford. That is a new feeling for them.”