This team has been left to fester and rot
FOSTER ADMITS NEW HORNETS MANAGER FACES TOUGH TASK
BEN FOSTER has warned Watford’s next boss he must find a remedy for the “rot” that has taken hold at the club. The Hornets prop up the Premier League after their ninth loss in 15 games at Leicester. Caretaker-manager Hayden Mullins was in the dugout for the 2-0 reverse after Quique Sanchez Flores followed Javi Gracia out of the exit. Watford are looking for their third permanent boss this season ahead of Crystal Palace’s visit tomorrow. Out of work Spanish coach Quique Setien is favourite for the post but Mullins could get another game at the helm this weekend as Watford consider their options. Keeper Foster, 36, admits the new man faces a huge challenge after tracing their dramatic demise back to April. It saw Watford end the season with one win in six League games to finish 11th before being humiliated in the FA Cup final 6-0 to Manchester City. Foster said: “It started before the FA Cup final. If you look at the finish to last season there were half-a-dozen or eight games where the standard really dropped.We struggled to address it at the time. It’s almost a symptom of being a middling club in the Premier League, when you get to a certain point in the season, when it’s handbrake up, holidays. “That has crept in. It’s almost been left to fester and rot too much and now it’s too much of a problem. “I know the ability we have in that dressing room, I see it on the training pitch but it’s transferring it onto the pitch that counts. “If you are mentally not right or not confident enough then you can’t go and show what you can do.” Foster expects reinforcements in January but says any new players must be up for an intense relegation battle. He added: “Getting in the right sort of players, that’s the important thing. We need players who want to fight – almost like they’ve got a point to prove. “There’s no point splashing out money on players who are going to be lovely on the eye, we need them to dig in. “Because otherwise when the chips are down they are not going to be there to help you out.” OneWatford player certainly up for a battle is skipper Troy Deeney, who returned to start at Leicester for the first time since August after injury. Foster said: “Troy coming back is massive. Everyone looks to Troy. He’s a big part of the club. He’s a great leader and everyone looks up to him. “The spine of the team is comprised of players you can rely upon. But we need a few more of them, the type who are willing to dig in and have a go.”