Latest Team News …

Everyone available for Leeds should be available for this game. Mads Bech is ready after Covid.

I always focus on one game at a time and one thing is for sure, [Ivan Toney] is not available for Watford.

Life in the Premier League …

Good fun. We enjoy every day. Of course, we know we are the new boys in town; we would like to do everything we can to be an asset to the Premier League. We are very much aware we need to have maximum focus on the next day and I think we have done that so far. We are enjoying it very much. We want to improve every single day, that is what we are trying to do.

There are maybe eight clubs who are very difficult to compete against and then there’s 12 clubs where the difference is not that big. We will do our best to get three points on Friday.

We have seen in recent years that a couple of teams have done well after they got promoted. Hopefully we are one of them that can continue doing that. The difference between the top six in the Championship and the bottom ten in the Premier League is not that big. Over the season it can escalate to a lot of points but over one game, the difference is very, very small. That is why everyone can compete.

Our style of play …

I really try to be myself and be as authentic and transparent as possible in what I do. We’ve tried to play offensive football in the Premier League and do things our way, but I’d like us to do it a bit more. I am also aware that we don’t have the best players; I love my players but there are some players who are maybe more expensive. Maybe we’ve tried to twist our style of play a little bit but, like we did the last two years in the Sky Bet Championship, we still try to press high. Of course, we dominated more in the Championship but are not yet good enough to dominate as much.

Sunday’s draw against Leeds United …

It’s the mind that is playing tricks with you. Let’s say that Leeds had made it 2-2 in the 65th minute, with exactly the same scenarios through the game, then you’d have said it was a fine point away from home. When it is so close it is difficult to accept that you just lost two points, but we have this rule that you have 24 hours to celebrate and 24 hours to be disappointed. I constantly remind the players, staff, and myself about it. We came in Monday, and it was difficult because we were still in this 24 hour bracket. We were off yesterday and today I didn’t see any sign of any disappointment. It was just a group of players willing to train hard and concentrate.

Watford …

I am sure that they look and think that they are a bigger club and better team than us. That is said with the biggest respect. I tried to count how many Premier League games their last starting line-up had played and then counted how many we had played. I then counted the value of the two teams and then there’s the experience of the grand maestro Claudio Ranieri who is a Premier League winner and me, a young Dane.

It’s the third time I’m going to face them and it’s the third Head Coach I’m going to face, not in a ten-year period, but a 12-month period. Ranieri is a different coach to Xisco Muñoz, but I think what he has done is make them more offensive. They have created quite a few chances and have some very good players going forward in Josh King, Emmanuel Dennis, and Ismaïla Sarr, although he is injured. It is the same formation, the 4-3-3, that we faced last time. They play slightly more direct in early phases, so we have to deal with the longer ball and the ball that drops down there because when it comes up to their offensive third, they are really good at moving the ball. They get down the half-spaces with their eights and produce early crosses. We need to defend the box well and stop the crosses down the sides.

Marcus Forss …

Marcus was close to getting his second start against Leeds United, but I chose to go with Sergi Canos who is a dribbler and a ball carrier, where Marcus is one of our best finishers and more of a clear number nine. Marcus trains very hard and has a top mentality after a disappointment in not getting minutes in a game where there was an opportunity for that. His mentality, mindset, and attitude has just been bang on the last few days in training.

Sergi Canos …

It is almost five years that I have been at the club and, in January, Sergi came so he is close to being five years in the club. As a person and a culture builder he has grown and matured over the years. It is very impressive that he came as a winger and now he’s played 13 games in the Premier League as a wing-back. That tells everything about his mindset, personality, and willingness to grow. We need players who are flexible and can play multiple positions because it just gives us that tactical edge to twist games our way.

Charlie Goode …

Charlie deserves a lot of praise for his fantastic mentality; he is always one of the best trainers. He has been so unlucky with illness, injury, and Covid. He played very few games in the Championship, so he’s jumped from League Two to the Premier League, played three games in a row and played well. Like any other player who hasn’t played and then plays three in a row there are a few things that need to improve. The overall picture is that there are some solid performances and I’ve praised him for that. It is a fantastic story for every football boy and girl that there is opportunity for all of us. Sometimes when it seems difficult, one day you can maybe play in the Premier League.

Shandon Baptiste …

I love my players. We are not the most expensive squad or the most experienced, but I think we have quality. We have good players; we believe in them. I think it is quite remarkable that Charlie Goode was fifth or sixth as a centre-back before the season but now he’s stepping in and doing really well. Shandon Baptiste is a similar story to Charlie; he barely played a Championship game but now has played quite a few games in the Premier League. I still think we are quite far from seeing what he is capable of.

Our home form …

I believe a lot in trying to be the same team home and away; I try to play the same way. There’s a little bit of co-incidence in it. I don’t think there’s too much in it right now.

Friday's game is live on Sky Sports and around the world through the Premier League's broadcast partners.

Supporters can also listen to live Bees Player commentary with Karleigh Osborne joining Mark Burridge.