Watford boss Javi Gracia is happy to have his squad in Austria for preseason training.

The next stage in the build-up to the new campaign is a training camp in Austria next week and it is a period Gracia feels will be of significant benefit for him and his players.

He said: “To stay in Austria will be very good for us because we can spend more time together. I think in this period we can feel something different.

“OK, we can work hard and we can do it as well here in Watford, but in this situation I think you can spend more time together and create some situations differently than we have here."

The Hornets their first two friendlies while in Austria – against FC Koln and Fortuna Dusseldorf – but the results of these games are a secondary consideration.

“The results are always important but in this period for me they are not important," the Hornets boss admitted. “There are a lot of things more important than the result - to accumulate time of play, to see new players with the others, try to avoid injuries are our targets in the next games."