Friday 26 January 2018 23:43, UK
New Watford head coach Javi Gracia is determined to hit the ground running with victory over Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday and insists there is no honeymoon period at the club.
The Hornets appointed the former Osasuna and Malaga boss to replace Marco Silva, who was sacked last week after overseeing a run of just one win in 11 Premier League games.
Gracia, who was fast-tracked into the role just a day after Silva's departure, insists he has no time to rest on the job.
"I don't know what the meaning is of being relaxed," he said.
"I am not relaxed, I'm always looking forward the next match. I need a good result, I need it, as it is my first experience here.
"I want to make a really good job. I am not relaxed. I try to keep calm in games but if you want the players to have a good performance than I need to keep a good attitude - it is important to send a message with motivation and confidence."
Gracia arrived at Vicarage Road to find a squad severely depleted by injuries, including captain Troy Deeney who looks certain to miss the weekend's fourth-round tie through illness.
He was unable to give an update on Deeney's future at the club following reported interest from West Brom and is only focused on the players available for the next game.
"I don't think about the injured players," Gracia said.
"We have 18 players maybe and with that we are going to have a good performance, a good match and we need to go on this competition.
"I'm not thinking about it [the number of injuries] at this moment or if we have more or less possibilities of players [returning to the squad]."
