Watford boss Slavisa Jokanovic has stressed he cannot afford to be “romantic” when it comes to building a squad for the Premier League next season.

The Golden Boys will compete at the top table of English football next season for the first time in eight years.

It is not Jokanovic who is directly responsible for the signing and selling of players. That is handled by owner Gino Pozzo, sporting director Luke Dowling, chief executive Scott Duxbury and chief scout Filippo Giraldi.

However, the Serbian still has a say in transfer discussions and knows the dilemma they will face when selecting his side next season; does he trust the players that secured promotion or attempt to bring in new signings?

Captain Troy Deeney has already suggested he expects as many as four or five additions with top flight experience and for Jokanovic, the challenge will be knitting together a side without upsetting the players who helped the Hornets win promotion.

Asked how he would handle the task, he replied: “It is not especially romantic. We must take steps to do what we believe is important for this club. It is not simple but we must do this.”

Next season will be just the Golden Boys’ third in the Premier League after brief stays in the 1999/00 and 2006/07 campaigns, each ending after just a season.

On both previous occasions the Hornets reached the Promised Land via the play-offs; their rise sudden and unexpected, leaving little time for preparation.

However, the club have gradually been building for top flight football since the Pozzo family bought the club in 2012.

Legendary boss Graham Taylor – who oversaw the club’s rise from the third tier to what was then known as the Premiership in 1999 – has already outlined his belief the current crop are in a better position than their predecessors to maintain their place among English football’s elite.

And Jokanovic has set his sights on more than just making up the numbers in the Premier League next season.

“I do not know [how we can do in the Premier League],” he stated. “This is an important step to compete in a different league. I always believe we can improve and I have repeated many times we must improve.

“Now it is definitely our obligation [to improve] but our ambition can’t only be to participate. This Olympic Games spirit about the importance of participation, I do not believe in so much.

“My ambition is not just to participate next season in the Premier League. Our ambition must be to be competitive, win the games and the first target is to try to compete for more years in the Premier League.

“We will start with this target and I don’t know where we will end up. This target must be our minimum ambition.”

It took an injury-time goal to deny the Hornets the Championship title against the Owls on Saturday but Jokanovic is already looking forward rather than back, despite the obvious frustration of missing out on silverware.

He said: “We are a little disappointed because we didn’t lift the trophy, which was our dream.

“Now we must look at what is in front of us. We will be in a very difficult competition next season. We will play in one of the most quality leagues in the world.

“We will have pre-season but it is time to start working now to build a team that will be ready to fight and be competitive in the Premier League.”