With Saturday’s draw at home to Southampton marking the start of a run of seven games in 23 days, the amount of time between fixtures will dictate exactly what work managers can do with their players.

For Valerien Ismael, the time between the end of the game on Saturday and kick-off tomorrow will be used to exercise one key component in his squad: their brains.

The Watford head coach shared a little insight into how clubs handle the turnaround between a game on Saturday and another on Tuesday.

“After a game on a Saturday, for the players it is about recovery,” he said.

“For my staff, as soon as one game is over we are already preparing for the next one.

“When you are not able to work on the pitch with the players because they need recovery time, then you work on their brains instead.

“So we look at video clips from the last game we played and also of the team that is coming next, and we discuss the gameplan and what we expected from the last game, and what we expect from the next game.

“It is important that we keep the brains working.

“The analyst department will already have watched lots of games of our next opponents, and I will watch at least one full game of them as well, to have some idea of the main work we need to get from our analysis.

“We go really in-depth into the analysis, and we do that already so we can be very well prepared.”

In terms of player availability, Ismael will be making a late decision on Jake Livermore, who missed Saturday’s draw with a minor knee strain.

“Jake was back in training yesterday (Sunday), we had another session with him today to assess and see if he is ready to go, or if he needs to wait a little bit more,” said the head coach.

“Otherwise, only Jeremy Ngakia is definitely unavailable.”

With the Christmas fixture list always so busy, there will be the annual balance between wanting to be consistent in team selection and rotating players who may need a break, either from the start or during a match.

“The game dictates the substitutes,” said Ismael.

“The form of our players at the minute means they are able to go again every three days at the minute.

“We are strong physically and we know that we have a good bench.

“We are in good shape to do whatever it is we want, if we have to rotate or if we think we can keep the same players.

“This year the Championship is very strong. You are always playing against strong teams who have different ways of playing.

“This division has evolved a lot. You saw Southampton in our last game, they play to a very high level technically and tactically.

“It makes the Championship very attractive, and it will be no different tomorrow.

“What we have to do is stay focussed on ourselves and the things we have to do.”

No team in the Championship has lost fewer games (2) or scored more goals (43) than tomorrow’s visitors Ipswich Town – quite an achievement for a team promoted from League One last season.

“They haven’t surprised me, especially when you know where they started from,” Ismael said.

“They had their ideas already in League One, and when you have that consistency and pick the right players for what you are trying to do then you create something within the squad.

“They got promoted and established themselves as a strong side, and when you keep winning you put more belief in yourselves.

“I think they are a perfect example of when you bring consistency in a club, with a clear vision and a way to play.

“The players have been playing together now for 18 months, they haven’t changed a lot since they got promoted.

“That creates an environment for success, and everything is possible for them.”

The Tractor Boys are in a top four that contains the three sides relegated from the Premier League last season.

Watford have now played all three, losing meekly at Leeds, showing more spirit at Leicester and then ending up disappointed not to have beaten the Saints.

“I think it was a sign that we have become mature. We have improved every week and now the desire for more is there,” said the Watford boss.

“But that is now the next step. If we want to get the rewards in the big games, then you have to be ruthless.

“If you get a chance against the best sides you have to score.

“You don’t get a lot of chances against the top sides, although I thought against Southampton we did create a lot which is another sign of how we have evolved our game.

“That is the message we have to reinforce to the players: take your chance, be ruthless.

“We have the quality and we have the ability in our squad to decide a game at any time. Now it is all about pushing for that relentlessly.”