Head coach Valerien Ismael has said he may “have to rethink” his decision to make Dan Bachmann captain after the keeper was sent off for the second time in 22 games at Leicester on Saturday.

The Austrian was given the armband in the summer when Ismael took over, but on Saturday he picked up his third yellow card for dissent this season when he raced 50 yards from his goal in the 83rd minute to debate a foul by Jamie Vardy on Wes Hoedt.

Referee Samuel Allison promptly booked Bachmann and then showed him a second yellow three minutes into stoppage time for the foul that led to Leicester’s penalty.

It means Bachmann has now been booked eight times for dissent in 43 games since November 5, 2022.

He will miss tomorrow night’s game with Norwich City at Vicarage Road, and in the bigger picture it calls into question the decision to appoint a goalkeeper as captain as well as Bachmann’s on-field discipline.

“From when I came in until now, it has been a case of development,” said Ismael.

“You get to know the players, you get to know the team. The team get to know the manager and the staff, and you see how the players are involved.

“When you see that having a captain who is a keeper could be a problem for us, especially when we want to discuss things with the referee, then yes it might be a situation that we have to rethink.”

Saturday was the second time in recent memory that Watford have ended a game with an outfield player in goal and 10 men on the pitch.

“We don’t want to put our players in difficult situations. What we have to think about always is what is best for the team,” admitted the Watford boss.

“My thought is always that the team comes above everything else. So if we have the feeling that we have to do something else for the good of the team, then we will do it.

“This is a situation we have to avoid. It is not acceptable that you give away an easy yellow card.

“We have to avoid that. Why that has happened is something we have to analyse and assess deeply.”

Ismael admitted it was very rare for a goalkeeper to collect so many cautions for dissent.

“I’ve never heard this before,” he conceded.

“Normally a booking for a keeper can happen sometimes with some decisions, but when it happens over and over and over it means it’s a pattern and so we need to work on it.”

Bachmann, who is 29, has more than 200 senior appearances to his name, as well as 14 caps for the Austrian national team so the bookings he is amassing cannot be put down to the petulance of youth or lack of experience.

“He’s an experienced player and he has to own his attitude on the pitch,” said Ismael.

“You have to deal with all the movement and the world as you see it on the pitch, and you know exactly that this action will have consequences.

“Before every game we have a short meeting with the referee and he asks us who are the players speaking on behalf of the captain.

“We give the names of two players, and normally they are the ones who speak with the referee.

“But if our keeper then comes outside the box, then the referee has no other option than to book him, unless it is something unusual or dangerous which then we can understand.

“But on this decision, the referee was right.”