Watford’s record of two wins from six games in all competitions since the World Cup may not make for enthralling reading, but Slaven Bilic is working with one of the most depleted squads in the Football League.
In the 2-0 defeat against Reading in the FA Cup, he was missing 15 first-team players due to injury, having seen three players pick up hamstring issues against Norwich City. To add insult to injury during the game that saw five players given their debuts, Leonardo Bacuna pulled his hamstring to make it four in just five days.
Watford’s physios must be rushed off their feet, but for the boss it was the final straw. "For him to get injured as quickly as he did is strange, impossible and unacceptable,” he said after the match.
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"I’m not a doctor or a physio, but this situation is affecting me the most, and I want answers. We can’t just keep saying it’s unlucky, unlucky, unlucky. We’re going to have a meeting about this, because it’s clear we need to change things."
Now the injury list features key first team players such as Joao Pedro, Ken Sema and Hamza Choudhury but still Bilic is keeping the points ticking over. Away at Norwich City, his side pulled off a masterstroke as they won 1-0 with a patchwork XI. Spanish full-back Mario Gaspar played in central midfield alongside Bacuna, while James Morris kept a clean sheet at left wing-back on his first league start.
With his hands tied behind his back, and a blindfold on, the Croatian manager is still showing his class in the second tier. The Hornets currently sit fourth in the Championship, 11 points off the automatic places, but with 20 games to play, they are only going to get stronger from here.
They’ve got the right man in charge, with promotions on his CV, and now players should begin to return from injury, rather than miss games. January is also providing a wonderful opportunity for the club to recruit fresh faces and solve the lack of depth issue that this injury crisis has exposed.
They are hoping to take Manchester United’s hot prospect Facundo Pellistri on loan until the end of the season, while they are also in the running to sign Man City defender Finley Burns, although they face competition from fellow Championship clubs for his signature.
The hamstring injuries are far from ideal given the four-six weeks usual recovery time, but by the end of January the club should be in a far stronger position than they are right now. If Bilic is getting a tune out of the players currently available to him, just imagine what he could do with a fully fit squad, plus January additions.
A top six finish is the absolute minimum for this squad, given the quality they possess. But there are currently just five points separating the Hornets from Swansea City down in 15th.
However, the Vicarage Road club have just three games left in January due to their FA Cup exit. Two of them are at home, to Blackpool and Rotherham, before they travel to Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough in a tough test. Given their FA Cup exit, they should be able to pick up six points over the next three weeks, which would keep their promotion push alive.
From there, anything is possible. The squad should be in fine shape and who knows what will happen to Burnley and Sheffield United. With pillars seemingly made of sand, Bilic is trying to build something at Vicarage Road. Once they are back in full flight, the Hornets will take some stopping.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
