As the clock ticks towards tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline on what looks like being a day of little or no action for Watford, Valerien Ismael was very keen to stress to the media earlier that the size and make-up of the squad is something he is happy with.

Lots of players went out during the summer, far fewer have arrived and many fans expected to see more business this week.

It’s now looking unlikely but the head coach was at pains to stress he was comfortable with the situation.

“As I say, I am happy to work with the size of squad,” he said.

“I think everyone has got to realise we are working a different way with the club and with myself.

“We are really aligned on what we’re trying to do. We want to build something and I think build was always the word we used through pre-season.

“When you want to build something you need first to give the confidence to the players.

“We know we will need to have maybe two or three transfer windows to get to exactly where we want to be.

“We need to give the opportunity to the young players and over the next three or four months we will assess the situation and in January we can readjust depending on if we think we are going the right way or if we have to do something more in the squad then we will do it.

“The thought behind it is to build something and to give a way for the players to show us and take the responsibility, to feel involved and not just that they are a number in the squad.

“It’s always an ongoing process, everywhere in the club both on the pitch and off the pitch.

“I will just say we are really clear and aligned on what we want.”

Perhaps the most obvious gap in the squad is at the back, where Ismael doesn’t appear to have cover for both of his first-choice pairing of Wes Hoedt and Ryan Porteous.

“Actually when you see the number of centre backs, we have Sierralta who is a centre back who has just changed position,” said the Watford boss.

“There’s Mattie Pollock, Jake Livermore is able to cover that position if needed too.

“I like to work with players who are able to play in two or three positions. I look at the overview of the squad and we don’t replace a position just for the sake of a position.

“We are talking every day with the board, sometimes multiple times a day. We have open communication on different topics.

“We know exactly what we have to do and where we want to go, and we also know exactly the profile of the players. As I say when you reshape the club, the squad and the mentality, then when you pick a new player they have to fit that profile.

“We assess the market, we follow the market, but we have to get the right feeling. We have to look at mentality, work ethic, is it affordable – and everyone has to be happy.

“For sure sometimes you expected things to go further or more quickly, but sometimes you have to accept that’s how the market is. The thing is not to be frustrated because these are our decisions.

“We act more carefully, we think more than maybe in the past, but that’s our choice.

“It’s our choice to go through this process and to give the squad the feeling that everyone will get a chance and everyone is involved.

“The next three or four months will give us answers on the pitch, and if we are not happy then we go back to the market in January.”