Pozzo want to establish Watford in the Premier League (From Watford Observer)

Pozzos insist they haven't bought Watford to 'make a quick return'

5:43pm Tuesday 3rd July 2012 in Sport By Frank Smith , Deputy Group Sports Editor

The Pozzo family have released a statement claiming they want to make Watford an established Premier League club and are not looking to make "a quick return".

The Pozzos completed their takeover of the Hornets on Friday and Gino Pozzo has been at Vicarage Road today.

Watford have this evening released a statement from the Pozzo family.

The Pozzo family said: "Our vision of how we should be involved in professional football is to provide financial and technical support, so that success can be achieved over the long-term.

"Every project will be individual and local in its development, and we will add to that the advantages we can take from synergies of operation across the group.

"We are here for the long-term. This is not a case of a foreign owner with an injection of money looking for a quick return. Our aim is clear: we wish to establish Watford as a Premier League club, which has revenue to help it become self-sufficient over time.

"There are no promises of timescale; only that is our stated ambition to be in the Premier League so that everyone connected with Watford, all of us, can enjoy a successful and sustainable future.

"Longevity to us is key to success. It is only over many years that success can be judged. We have owned Udinese, in Italy, for 25 years. And we have a second project, part of the Pozzo group, in Granada, Spain."

The statement reveals it was in fact Scott Duxbury and Gianluca Nani, who worked together at West Ham United, who put the proposal of buying Watford to the Pozzo family.

The Pozzos said: "Both clubs have enjoyed success and are sustainable businesses. The opportunity, presented to us by Scott Duxbury and Gianluca Nani in relation to Watford, contained ideals within a vision that was very much close to our own thinking.

"This is why we are here at Watford. The club will be run along the tried and tested model of Udinese and Granada but it will remain special to its supporters because there is no way the local values will be in any way compromised.

"We know England is a very different country to others, and football has its own culture. We respect that enormously, and we are aware how much the club means to its fans and the local community.

"Nothing will change in this respect. The Academy is close to the heartbeat of the club and this will continue to be very important to Watford’s future progress.

"But of course we want to make the most of our world-class scouting network, which has many years of football experience behind it. That is the advantage of being part of a wider group, a wider family of clubs.

"Maintaining Watford’s identity is key to having long-term success. This is not just another club; this is Watford and we recognize just how important the individual nature of a football club is to its supporters.

"No more so than in England, in fact. We’re very passionate about football, and the English style reflects the true spirit of the game."

Watford's stadium Vicarage Road currently has a derelict East Stand and a South-West corner development which is half complete.

The Pozzos are currently redeveloping Udinese's Stadio Friuli and have suggested the same will happen at Vicarage Road.

The Pozzos said: "Success will also be measured off the field, as well as on it. We are aware of supporters’ hopes for the stadium. Development of the stadium and the East Stand remains an essential part of our project.

Any club must have the right facilities if it is to expect revenues which help support it reach its ambitions. Watford is no different in this regard."

The Pozzos also claimed they are "not expecting a financial return" on Watford and see football as a passion.

"We don’t see football as a business. It’s a passion for us," the Pozzos said. "We have been proposed a project so exciting that it moved us to support this through funding.

"We are not expecting a financial return, rather we see it as privilege to be involved with Watford. But we must be professional in all that we do, to get the right results on behalf of the club.

"We believe Watford will benefit greatly from the experience of the Pozzo family over many years.

"We are hoping all fans will join us as our vision for Watford takes shape."

There will be comments from Nani and the Pozzo family made exclusively to the Watford Observer published in due course.