Watford were in the Premier League when Gracia was previously in charge in 2018-19 and he also took them to an FA Cup final.

His team at that time included Tom Cleverley, who was Hornets boss last season but is now at Plymouth, but now he has a largely inexperienced squad to work with as he looks to plot a way back to the top flight.

"They are different players but I am an optimist, I try to help the players to be even better. I think we have a very good squad, I really believe it," he said.

"With these young players and the experienced players, I think we have a good balance, what we'll have to do is try to take the best out of all of them and try to build up a consistent team, a competitive team, because individually they are good."

The returning boss was a popular figure among supporters during his first 20-month spell at the club, the longest of any Watford manager in the last 14 years, and they created a 'Javi Gracia, he drinks sangria' chant for him, which also included the line 'he's 47,...