Troy Deeney believes the Hornets will improve as an attacking side over the coming weeks but says Giuseppe Sannino has told him goalscoring chances may be “a bit thin for a while”.

Sannino took charge of Watford last week and is having to learn about his side during the festive fixtures – one of the busiest parts of the season.

The Italian’s reign got off to a solid start with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town on Saturday – a game in which Deeney scored – but the striker is aware opportunities to add to his tally could be hard to come by in the forthcoming matches.

Speaking after the Ipswich match, the striker said he will have to be clinical when a chance does come his way during what he described as a “transitional period”.

He said: “The new boss has been good enough to speak to me already and explained he will be working from the back so chances may be a bit thin for a while. So I need to take whatever comes my way.

“Over the coming weeks and months people will see a different side to us and we will improve as an attacking side.”

On Sannino, he added: “He likes to get his point across and he likes to keep everyone on their toes. The attention span was really high against Ipswich but he hasn’t been here a week yet so we can’t judge too much as yet.

“The new boss wants intensity and us moving as a unit and I think we did that [against Ipswich].”

The Hornets’ new head coach has apologised to his players for being unable to speak in English but Deeney said he must make an effort to learn Italian.

He said: “I have the Rosetta Stone out. The Italians are learning English so it is only right I try to learn Italian.”

Sannino replaced Gianfranco Zola at Watford and Deeney admitted the players were disappointed to see the Italian leave the club after 18 months in charge.

But he accepts managers and players leaving is part of football and added: “We did not have time to get too upset because the new gaffer was in the next day.

“I have spoken to Gianfranco and said thank you, it’s been a pleasure. He just said to me to crack on.

“It is important now that we leave that chapter behind us and move on. It is a busy period now and that will help us crack on.”

Deeney was Watford’s second highest scorer during their run to the Play-Off Final last season and found the net 20 times.

Whilst he endured a difficult spell a couple of months back, Deeney’s strike against Ipswich was his tenth of the season.

The forward netted on five occasions in the opening three matches and believes that excellent start has given the illusion that he has been struggling this season.

However, he says he will remain patient and believes more goals will come as the season progresses.

He explained: “I’m on ten goals before Christmas, which is not bad. It is only because I started so well that people now think I have fallen off a bit. But I still have ten goals so I’m going to crack on and see what happens.

“I don’t set targets. If I did then didn’t reach them, I would be in for a painful summer.

“I just have to keep going, continue to enjoy myself and remember where I was 18 months ago [in prison] and keep myself grounded.”