HAVE Watford and Vialli cracked it? Vialli sounds a note of caution: "I was talking the other day with David Platt and we both agree this is a difficult division, not only because of the number of games you play but also the players you manage," he said.

Vialli stresses that he is not adopting a rotation system for the sake of it.

"I believe in selecting players who can do the job in the best possible way, need to be in the team. But it is a very demanding division and especially adopting my sort of football. Some players might find that physically they cannot do it all the time.

"As a manger you make the opposition think but if you make changes for the sake of it, you, as a manager, can only make it difficult for yourself.

"So there is a thin line between doing it successfully and improving things or complicating things. The thing is to keep it simple."

Vialli was a little puzzled by a question at the annual meeting which suggested that if Watford had got as many penalties as I suggested they should have, did he think they would have been much higher in the division.

"I have not noted you writing about a lot of penalties we should have had," said the manager this week. "I think we should have got three points against Birmingham, three against Stockport and a point at home to Forest."

December 14, 2001 10:30