Ben Watson insists the influx of players at Watford has not unsettled members of the squad who won promotion to the Premier League last season.

The 30-year-old midfielder made his first competitive start since May in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Preston North End in the Capital One Cup.

He had previously come off the bench in two of the Hornets’ three Premier League fixtures.

Watson is not the only member of last season’s squad struggling for game time at this stage.

Matej Vydra and Fernando Forestieri are yet to play a single minute in the league – though both started at Deepdale – but Watson refutes the idea there is any discontent from those who helped the Golden Boys reach the top flight in the first place.

Speaking after the game, he said: “A new manager has come in, new signings have come in. We have got to keep working hard through the week and eventually your chance will come.”

With the transfer window shutting on September 1, Quique Sanchez Flores will soon have to submit a 25-man squad to the Premier League. Places are therefore at stake.

But Watson stressed the League Cup was not solely about impressing the boss.

He said: “I don’t think it was about the manager. It is about yourself. You want to impress the manager but every time you go onto the football pitch you want to do your best for yourself and your teammates.

“It was a chance for the boys who have not played to get 90 minutes. The manager picks the team and at the end of the day it is not just about tonight it is about what you do in training. Hopefully a few of us have done enough to be involved at the weekend.”