The debut of new signing Ismael Kone was a big positive for head coach Slaven Bilic despite the 2-0 FA Cup defeat at Reading.

Kone’s last action was for Canada in the World Cup Finals, but he slipped pretty seamlessly into the heart of the Hornets midfield and showed up well.

“In every training session and every game you have some plusses and minuses, and a few of them got big plusses today,” said Bilic.

“Kone was one of those definitely. It’s still early days and he has only played one game, but we can only talk about that one game and he did well.

“There was no doubt he would always be one for the future. He’s young and has a lot of potential. Today he showed me that he can also make an impact on the quality of our game straight away.

“He looks an athlete and he’s good on the ball. Out of possession there are some positioning things we’ll help him learn. When he’s challenging a player he is aggressive and has strength.

“He was very, very good, in both phases of the game.”

Overall, while exiting the FA Cup at the first hurdle was disappointing, Bilic was fairly upbeat when he considered the team he fielded that was so short on experience.

“I am never happy after a defeat, even in a friendly never mind the FA Cup, but considering the situation and the team we started with – and particularly the team we finished the game with – today wasn’t too bad,” he said.

“We had players out there at the end who hadn’t trained with the first team until the last couple of days. Young boys making their debuts.

“I’m happy and feel positive about the way they played, and the character they showed. I also thought we showed some quality in the second half.

“I wanted to give some young boys a chance. I said to all the young boys, those who started and those who came on, there are two things I want from you.

“Firstly, don’t s**t yourselves. Secondly, enjoy it. And I am happy at what they did.

“For young kids to come here like that, it’s really good.”