Ed Still has called on Watford to be united as he prepares for his first game in charge at Preston North End on Saturday.
Still described bringing the dressing room together as the key to success at Vicarage Road and has already stamped out glimpses of negativity in training.
The head coach claimed he is "buzzing" to have been appointed and is intent on getting the supporters on side, a mission that he knows begins with the team's performance this weekend.
Still took his first session on Tuesday and is already seeing signs of improvement in the attitude of the team.
He said: "It's been really positive, the players have responded really well.
"It's going to be hard work but I want it to be fun at the same time. I really hope that everybody can enjoy it and I want the players to enjoy it.
Ed Still talks to the press (Image: Newsquest)
"I think the fans will pick up on that and hopefully will be enthused and entertained by it.
"One of the biggest challenges, if not the biggest, is uniting the dressing room. Every day's been a little bit better.
"I did see a couple of signs in the first training sessions of discontent or moaning, let's call it.
"We can't be having that, that's not going to work. That's not going to make us better.
"We need to change that attitude into something stronger, which will ultimately make us more united and we'll be better for it."
Still speaks both English and French, an attribute that could benefit a dressing room featuring multiple speakers of both languages.
Asked in his first press conference whether he felt there was a split between the two camps, Still claimed the divide isn't a major concern.
He said: "It's natural in a dressing room of 25-30 men that you'll get little subgroups but I've been pleasantly surprised that the divide between the French and English speaking players isn't as big as I thought it might have been.
"It does help that all the French-speaking players listen to me and feel that I'm French and then, you know, talking to Mattie Pollock or Tom Ince that they feel I'm English.
Ed Still at London Colney (Image: Alex Cozzi/Watford FC)
"It gives me a headstart but nothing more than that.
"I'm only 35 and I do feel connected to a lot of the players, from the younger ones to the older ones. I had a good conversation with Tom Ince yesterday and his position in the squad and the role that he can play for the dressing room.
"A big part of my role is to get everybody on side and that they feel I'm there to help them, to make them better."
The Hornets are winless in seven matches, but it's still just six weeks since they won their fourth consecutive match 3-0 against Birmingham City.
Still has been taken by "the power, the speed, the technicality" in the squad and sees his role as just setting them on the right path.
He said: "I've been really impressed by what the players have shown on the pitch.
"The power we've got, the speed we've got, the technicality we've got in certain positions is really good, so it's just for us to find a good balance in the different profiles and to pick the right team for the right games.
"Playing away to Preston this weekend is a totally different thing than at home to other teams in the league and that's something we'll take into account."
Share