Watford assistant coach Craig Shakespeare has called on his players to "bring it on" for the return of the Premier League and said he is focused on getting his side prepared, both physically and mentally, for the challenge ahead.

Shakespeare admitted that he first returned to training with a sense of trepidation about the safety of the environment he would be entering, but after resuming full contact training he is now feeling much more excited about play resuming.

"My own personal situation was quite apprehensive at first - are we doing the right thing?" he said.

"Now that we've got into this, with full contact and 11 v 11, we know it's a much more safe environment than we thought it might not be. We know that we're getting tested twice a week, we know at the training ground everything's safe. It's a case of it's going to happen, bring it on, make sure we're ready for it, make sure the players are in a good place physically and just as importantly, mentally and I'm pleased to report they are."

One aspect of the resumption of the Premier League Shakespeare admits he may struggle to get used to is the lack of supporters.

During an in-house friendly, the players sampled fake crowd noises, but the coach admits it was a far cry from the atmosphere created by a real audience.

"From a personal point of view I think football without fans won't be as entertaining," he said,

"It's not what we all want to see, but it is what it is - it's the same for everybody. It's a shame that we can't have Vicarage Road bouncing like it was and it has been and can, but we've just got to experience a different outlook on it. We've experienced it the other day with the crowd noises et cetera. It's strange, I admit, but it's something we've got to get used to and as players the result will be the most important thing."

With games scheduled to come thick and fast once the season resumes, the strength of the Hornets' squad will be put to the test.

Shakespeare knows it could be a big opportunity for some of the team's fringe players to impress and play their way into contention.

"With possible injuries that you get because of the amount of games and the fatigue levels, opportunities will arise when sometimes you don't expect it," he said. "You are allowed now nine subs [on the bench] of which you're allowed five of them and three opportunities to do that. I think it's all about us as coaches getting everything right.

"As a player, if you're not in the first starting 11, you could be in the second so make sure you get over your disappointment. You could be on after ten minutes. Who knows what's around the corner? You usually say these messages, preaching to five subs or seven subs, but now there's even more so everyone has to really be ready to take their chance."

Watford find themselves battling to avoid relegation with five other clubs at the bottom of the table, all of whom could avoid the drop with a good run of form.

However, Shakespeare insists the Hornets are not interested in other teams' games and are just going to remain focused on themselves.

"Concentrate on your own game," he said, when asked what the club's approach will be. "Concentrate on that. If we pull others down, that's up to how they get on. There's so many things that could happen, so many twists and turns.

"You look at who we've got to play and we can give anyone a good game. We've just got to get on with that."