Last weekend’s sweaty, half-paced friendly with Sampdoria didn’t tell us much about Watford’s prospects going into the new season, but the team that toiled in the boiling sun did show something that has long been missing from a Watford side in August – consistency.

Ever since the arrival of the Pozzos, the rapidly-revolving door of head coaches has been defended by fans and management with references to the compartmentalised structure the owners have in place. The common refrain goes: by giving head coaches responsibility only for getting the first team squad ready to play, you reduce the impact should they (be made to) leave.

This is true to a point, particularly when compared to proper old-school managers like Graham Taylor, who stamped his image on virtually every facet of the club. And as a safety net it has proven successful, as Watford have chugged along just fine for the last few years despite the chaos predicted by the national media. But that doesn’t negate the massive benefit that at last having some continuity between seasons will bring.

Javi Gracia might not be to everybody’s taste, but he did a fantastic job last season to turn a potentially dire situation into a comfortable one. Now, he has the chance to mould the team in his image, rather than fight a fire left over by Marco Silva. Pre-season this year could, for the first time since Gianfranco Zola’s second campaign in 2013, be about honing an approach, rather than bedding in a new coach’s vision.

Similarly, there has been no big overhaul in players this summer. Watford’s three Premier League summers so far have seen 16, 10 and 10 first team players arrive. This year, barring any new faces squeezed in before the window shuts, only six have joined the club, including one-for-the-future Ben Wilmot and a familiar face in Gerard Deulofeu.

The Spaniard presents a potential X-factor that Watford haven’t had since the days of John Barnes, and upgrades the front line significantly. But Deulofeu aside, each signing has been a nice addition that improves the squad without breaking the bank or ripping up last season’s team sheet.

To some this will seem like a lack of ambition – especially given the Richarlison windfall – and there is definitely still a glaring need to add to the back and front lines, but I see this as a chance to give a squad still fairly new to each other a chance to develop rather than throwing money at a problem, under a coach that specialises in doing just that.

This could also be the year that the Pozzos’ combing for young talent abroad pays off. The loss of Richarlison could be a significant one, and I believe he will thrive at Everton this season, but waiting in the wings to succeed him are Isaac Success and, work permit permitting, Adalberto Penaranda – two young talents that have now had several years to adapt to European football.

So what can we realistically expect this season? Without injuries to nearly every key player last year, a top half finish could have been well within reach, and I think most would consider straddling the fold in the table a very good year. Another season of false starts, however, and fans might start to gaze critically at Udinese’s record over the past decade.

It’s been very hard to get to grips with this pre-season. Fewer friendlies than usual, with several in consecutive days, mean it’s tough to tell exactly who Gracia has pegged for his first choice eleven – something not helped by injuries to arguably the club’s three best players.

Injuries like those were one factor that derailed last season, and they threaten to toughen up a relatively kind start to this one. But with a good, relaxed vibe around the club, and players who actually already know each other by name, there is plenty of reason for optimism.