Santa arrives in Watford as Malky's lot avoid administration

Christmas came early to Malky Mackay as a cheque for almost £5m from Lord Ashcroft saved Watford from going into administration.

Internal politics are part and parcel of football with Liverpool the classic example where even the joint owners of the club are at war with each other as the club plunges down the Premiership.

The sums involved at Watford are much smaller but after nine months in charge Jimmy Russo demanded the return of a £4.88m loan after stepping down from the board ahead of the club's recent AGM.

The threat of administration was very real with a ten point penalty likely to drop Watford in at the deep end of a relegation scrap.

With the dark cloud of administration removed Mackay needs his players to rediscover their form after a worrying run of one win in five games.

The festive period is non-stop in England with Watford facing Nottingham Forest and Bristol City on the 26th and 28th of this month before starting the new year away to Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Casting a Scrooge-like professional eye at the fixtures coming up Mackay has issued a business as usual message to his players over the festive period.

He said: "The players have a game Boxing Day so they will be in training Christmas morning.

"Then we are in all the way through as we have a game Boxing Day and then another game again two days later.

“We are travelling down there to Bristol so we have to make sure we are in all the time now.

“Christmas is a busy time for footballers and it is not a time of the year for taking time off. Martyn Pert (head of conditioning) gauges the rest they need and the recovery they need but, in the main, they just work all the way through."

The first six months in management have taught the former Celtic centre-half all that he'll ever need to know in terms of crisis management- the areas of the game that aren't covered in coaching courses or licenses.

Watford have been unable to pay a transfer fee for any players this year whilst trying to shift out the highest earners sometimes to rivals within their own division.

Throw in the resignation of the chairman that appointed him, the return of legendary manager Graham Taylor onto the board and the threat of administration and it all adds up to far from boring introduction to management.

Mackay however will be judged by results on the park, and sounding quite like Tony Mowbray, believes that Watford aren't far away from achieving the results that their play deserves.

He added: "We have got to make sure we get back to winning ways. I would be concerned if we weren’t actually playing well in games and creating chances.

"We are doing that and looking still as if we are in games and will win more than we lose. I think for the players to be where they are at the moment with so much going on is great credit to the boys.

"But we need to get back to winning ways and making sure we do not get beat, especially away from home.

"We have got to make sure we turn the defeats away from home into something better than that."

Watford Observor article