Sean Dyche tells his Watford players they are in for a hard week in France

When asked what his players can expect, new Hornets boss Sean Dyche’s initial reply was “very hard work”.

The hotel in Biarritz and the excellent medical centre Watford will be taking advantage of is used by some of the top clubs in Europe, as it specialises in knee and ankle injuries.

It is hoped the top-class facilities will speed up Stephen McGinn’s recovery slightly and help any other Hornets’ players who may be struggling with any knocks.

However, this week will not see a drop in intensity, in fact, the complete opposite. Martin Taylor, Scott Loach, Lee Hodson and Matty Whichelow were all rested on Saturday to make sure they would be ready for the trip to France - although it came too quick for Whichelow, who has been left at home.

“Joking apart, they will be working very hard,” Dyche said after his side’s 2-2 draw with Boreham Wood.

“They worked hard last week but it was controlled work. Whereas in France, we will let the reins off and it will be very difficult.

“It is not because it is a particular belief of mine but because you need to be fit in the modern game.

“You have to be very fit and players are nowadays. They look after themselves, they protect their bodies very well and they probably eat better than we did and they are treated better than we were.”

“Obviously there is also the team aspect of getting everyone together,” Dyche continued.

“I haven’t been myself but we have had staff go over and they said it is a lovely environment.

“It is a mixture of work, bonding and we will do a lot of tactical preparations in the evenings, where we speak to the players about what we think, how we plan to go about things this season, show them one or two things and talk to them about what I want from them this season.

“We will use the time wisely, in a good environment, and it will be a nice change to break up pre-season for them.”