Zola happy with Watford start

Gianfranco Zola has saluted the attitude of his Watford players after his first week of training as the club's new head coach.

The Italian was installed as Hornets boss 10 days ago, coming almost immediately after the takeover of the Hertfordshire club by the Pozzo family, who dismissed an unfortunate Sean Dyche after he had secured an 11th-placed finish last term. But with pre-season training now underway, Zola has reported a positive start to his tenure ahead of his first friendly fixture at non-league Boreham Wood on Tuesday evening. "The response from the players has been magnificent," Zola told the club's official website. "What pleases me most is their willingness to accept a high volume of new information. That is a very good sign and something we can both build on. "For the moment, everything is going very well. Now we need to use the games we have in front of us to develop that understanding further."