New Watford manager Javi Gracia has admitted he’s aiming to get them promoted automatically. If not, he wants the play-offs at least.

Marca have an interview with the Spanish boss today in which he reveals his lofty aims after returning to Watford this month.

Gracia was named as the new Watford manager last week, replacing Paulo Pezzolano in the dugout. It’s his second spell in charge for the club after previously managing them from January 2018 to September 2019.

That spell was one of the most successful in their recent history. Gracia took them to an FA Cup final and 11th placed finish in the Premier League in 2018/19. That was their highest finish since 1986/87.

They now find themselves 11th in the Championship, but Gracia has no intentions of remaining there for long.

“Our goal is to try to be as high as possible. If we can go straight up, even better; if not, we’ll fight for the playoffs,” he said.

Most will have been surprised to see the 55-year-old return to Vicarage Road given the manner in which his first spell was ended.

Like most managers during the Pozzo reign he...