Minor chest pains forced Oscar Garcia to spend yesterday in hospital but that didn’t stop Watford’s new head coach from speaking to the club’s coaching staff and helping finalise plans for today’s trip to Blackpool.

Oscar was said to be sorry and disappointed that he will have to miss his second game in charge of the Hornets but he has still selected the starting XI for the match at Bloomfield Road.

The 41-year-old was taken to hospital on Sunday night with, what the club described as, minor chest pains and he had further assessments yesterday.

The Golden Boys’ new sporting director, Luke Dowling, whose first day was the same as Oscar’s, addressed the media yesterday afternoon in the Spaniard’s absence.

Dowling confirmed: "Yes [Oscar will pick the team]. He has spoken to (assistant coach) Ruben Martinez [about the selection] and they will have organised the team yesterday (Sunday) and will have known the team then.”

"Oscar was up in bed this morning (Monday) and has been in regular contact with the coaching staff because he still wants to play his part tomorrow night (Tuesday)," Dowling continued.

"Training was taken today as normal and prepared as normal. There has been information and feedback from Oscar. He was in yesterday for training and we had a full day yesterday.

"They would have worked on things yesterday preparing for tomorrow's game and that communication is still there. We will all get on with things as normal and hope to come back from Blackpool with three points."

Most of the Golden Boys’ hierarchy had spoken to Oscar when Dowling addressed the local media; owner Gino Pozzo, chief executive Scott Duxbury, Dowling and other staff members had exchanges with the former Barcelona man.

It potentially gives an indication into the man that Oscar was said to be sorry he couldn’t take training yesterday or tonight’s match.

Dowling said: "I have spoken with Oscar and he was in good spirits - well as good as you could expect - and he is more disappointed than anything else because he wasn't in today for training.

"I will pay him a visit later today, the medical staff are going to see him now and his family will be with him this afternoon.

"He seemed fine and upbeat. He was more sorry and disappointed than anything else."

Assistant coaches Ruben Martinez and Javier Pereira took training yesterday and will lead the side tonight.

Dowling suggested Oscar would not be communicating with the coaching staff during the match or immediately before the contest.

He said: “We are more than comfortable the staff here can deal with the game situation without having to put Oscar through that in his hospital bed. We wouldn't want to do that either.

"We have good staff here and we are really prepared for tomorrow."

Dowling was hoping Oscar’s situation would provide the Watford players with additional motivation when they take on Jose Riga’s Blackpool He said: “We have a good, honest group here any way but naturally when something like that happens then an instinct comes out in you where it looks like you are doing that little bit extra because of what happened. But they work hard any way."

He added: "The players, like all of us, will be upset and the main thing will be that they hope he can make a full recovery. But in training today the spirits were good and the intensity was good.

"The players will be looking forward to tomorrow's game because after a defeat (at Charlton Athletic on Saturday) you want the next game to come as quickly as possible. They will be focussed on the match and that will be the message from the coaching staff, via Oscar himself."

Dowling, rightly, would not speculate on the condition of Oscar or what had caused the chest pains.

The ex-Valencia man had additional tests yesterday afternoon, and Dowling said: "The main thing from the club's point of view is that Oscar makes a full recovery and we support him. That is our main concern at this stage.

"He is still having tests today and we will hope he makes a full recovery in the next few days. Until we hear more from the hospital, that is where we are at."

He continued: "I can't comment on what it is and we haven't had the information back [from the hospital]. So until we get that I don't think anyone can speculate about what it was or what it is. We are just waiting for more tests to take place on Oscar."

On the prospect of Oscar returning for Saturday’s home match with Bournemouth, Dowling added: "We will only be able to answer that once we have been told by the professionals. Obviously if the advice is not to rush him back for Saturday then we certainly won't rush him back. It also depends on how Oscar feels as well."

Read injury news for Watford's trip to Blackpool here.