Marco Silva interrupted his own pre-match press conference to deliver a brief tribute to Graham Taylor this afternoon.

The head coach had been asked his first question but dedicated the day to Taylor, who passed away on January 12 last year.

Taylor is widely regarded as Watford's greatest ever manager, and a tribute has been planned by fans for tomorrow's game with Southampton.

"It’s a really important day today for the club and our fans, and his family as well," Silva said. "What he’s achieved was amazing with this club, he built the club with Sir Elton John. It’s an important day and it’s very important we start with him.

"We need to pay attention to everything and each club I work at, I like to understand the story of the club, understand the past and respect the people who are important to the club."

Last year then head coach Walter Mazzarri said he would channel a tribute to Taylor through his players' performances in their next game - although it ended up being a turgid 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough which would have left the great man annoyed at best.

Silva stopped short of issuing the same guarantee this year, but suggested he may use Taylor's memory as motivation.

"I can use everything I feel is the best to motivate our players," he said.

"Our best motivation is our job; people who work in football, coaches and players are doing what we love, what is our passion as well. It must be our big motivation to work hard."