A 3-0 victory on the opening day of the season would delighted most managers but Beppe Sannino claimed he was only 70 per cent happy following Watford’s win over Bolton Wanderers.

The Hornets excelled during a first-half they dominated at Vicarage Road and went into the break two goals to the good.

The second half was more even and Bolton applied pressure but it was the Golden Boys who scored the only other goal in the game.

“I’m 70 per cent happy,” Sannino stated after the contest. “For us the result was important but we can improve. But we need more matches.”

“It was a very good performance; where we passed the ball well short and passed well long,” Sannino added.

“Until (Juan Carlos) Paredes got injured [with 18 minutes to go], we were fit and we were balanced on the pitch. In the second half, the players were tired and we dropped more. In the last 15 minutes Bolton created situations when [goalkeeper] Heurelho Gomes was fantastic.”

Paredes went down with cramp on 72 minutes but attempted to carry on after treatment.

Daniel Pudil subsequently went off with the Hornets’ final substitution, as Lloyd Dyer came on, only for Paredes to then spend the rest of the contest hobbling around.

When Sannino was asked if he should have taken Paredes off, he replied: “When I pick players, I always think forward. It was 2-0 and Bolton were pressing our midfield and I wanted balance on the pitch. With Paredes, it was important he stayed on the pitch [due to the balance].”

Ecuadorian full-back Paredes joined the Hornets in the summer from Barcelona Sporting Club, via sister club Granada, and today was his first outing for the Golden Boys after only receiving international clearance on Tuesday.

Sannino added: “I am happy because the supporters today saw a player who was on the line. We watched TV footage of Paredes but today we saw someone who could become a big player.”