Watford

Ben Miller
BBC Sport

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Head coach Ed Still says the whole of the Watford squad has to "step up and take responsibility" if they are to "buck the trend" of finishing poorly in recent seasons.

The Hornets have failed to win any of their last four games, following three wins and two draws in their first seven matches after Still succeeded Javi Gracia in early February.

Sitting mid-table in 12th, having fallen out of play-off contention, it continues a recent trend where Watford have finished 11th, 15th and 14th in the Championship since their relegation from the Premier League in 2022.

"I'm not going to go into too much of an analysis of that, but there are patterns and trends that are there and it's something that needs to change," Still told BBC Radio Three Counties.

"These are times in the season when you need to stand up, compete and put everything on the pitch to match your ambitions and all the talk and everything you say and I say.

"I know I am one to be open and communicative but you then need to deliver on the pitch and we didn't do that [in Saturday's defeat at Oxford United].

"You've got to grow and learn. OK, there are a lot of young players – but it isn't just a team of young players.

"Everybody's got to step up and take responsibility, not point fingers or turn round and say 'it's his fault and it's his fault'.

"It's not – it's everybody. All of us have got to come together even more, push harder and buck the trend that's been happening over the past seasons and also, now, over the past few weeks.

"Before coming in, I knew exactly what I was walking into. It just is what it is.

"Fingers can be pointed [but] I'm very open, extremely hard working and I'm just going to work really hard with the staff and the players and push on."

Marc Webber
Final Score reporter

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It's Groundhog Day for Watford. With the play-offs out of reach, the Hornets have slipped into their annual end-of-season slumber, with low-key performances which instigate boos from their own fans.

It started with the 2-0 loss at Oxford United on Saturday, when manager Ed Still had to apologise for not taking it to an opposition side "who wanted it more."

It remains to be seen how Watford navigate the next few games when there's no jeopardy.

Do you stick a rocket up the current squad and at least ask them to put a bit of personal pride in their performances to collectively get some results?

Do you motivate the players by giving them a target to end their four-game winless run away from home?

That could be achieved in the remaining two trips to West Brom and Middlesbrough. But both of those sides still need wins for different reasons.

Or do you try something more radical?

The manager has said planning has already begun for next season and is happening in between these games. But what happens if these games are more obviously being used in the planning process?

Perhaps he should tell players who think they are a shoe-in for next season that the next four games are a trial to decide their role in this club going forward.

That may mean some unusual formations, more risk-taking and a greater chance of further defeats.

The Watford fans would have to tolerate using the last few games as an experiment for building a better future. Will they just stay away if the defeats continue?

It's a brave strategy which may take more man and fan management. But if Still is determined to make this club his future, he may want to create disruption now to create a better Watford for next season.

Watford head coach Ed Still has spoken to BBC Three Counties Radio about fans booing after the 2-0 defeat at Oxford United.

"I can understand it completely," he said. "It's the worst – our fans have travelled so well and given us such support this season.

"To send them home that way is horrible. They've seen a team that hasn't matched the opposition in terms of aggression and physical impact. That makes us all angry.

"It's not for being caught by surprise; we know what Oxford are, how windy it is, how the pitch is and how difficult it is, but you've got to deal with it. End of story.

"It is far too much of a familiar story from what's gone on in previous seasons, as well. To be repeating that trend now is terrible."

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The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

Watford boss Ed Still has revealed midfielder Edo Kayembe missed their Easter matches against QPR and Charlton because of international commitments after helping DR Congo qualify for the World Cup finals.

The Leopards beat Jamaica 1-0 in their play-off in Guadalajara 10 days ago to reach this summer's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, but Kayembe then failed to return to England in time for Watford's matches on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

"He's back from all the celebrations with DR Congo and their World Cup qualification so that's really good for the team," Ed Still told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"There were governmental obligations from their side and all the players selected for the last play-off game were in the same situation. West Ham had the same issue with (Aaron) Wan-Bissaka and many clubs in France and Belgium had the same issue.

"On the one hand we're really happy for him and proud that he'll be at the World Cup in a couple of months, but it was disappointing not to have him with us for the QPR or Charlton games."

Still has also revealed defender James Abankwah is available for selection for Saturday's Championship match at Oxford (15:00 BST) and midfielder Othmane Maamma is back in training after almost two months out with a thigh injury.

Watford are currrently 10th in the Championship table, nine points adrift of the top six with five matches remaining.

Listen to more Watford interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

Oxford United will seek an exit from the bottom three as they welcome Watford on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The U's are on a four-match winless streak but are only one point below 21st-placed Portsmouth and could leapfrog both Leicester City and Pompey to reach safety should they pick up a better result.

They face a Hornets side on a three-match winless run of their own, with a nine point-gap to the play-offs.

• Oxford have won just three of their last 26 league games against Watford (D11 L12), though one of those was in this exact fixture last season (1-0).

• Watford lost this exact fixture 1-0 last season, having been unbeaten in their previous 12 league visits to Oxford between 1972 and 1999 (W4 D8).

• Oxford have the lowest average possession (39.7%), have completed the fewest passes (8,870), had the fewest sequences of 10 or more passes in open play (128), average the fewest passes per sequence (2.3) and have the shortest sequence time (5.6 seconds) in the Championship this season.

• Since Ed Still's first game in charge of Watford on Valentine's Day, only Middlesbrough (211) and Portsmouth (165) have had more shots in the Championship than the Hornets (151), though 44% of them have come from outside the box (67), the third-highest ratio of any side in that time.

• Since the start of February, only Hayden Hackney (28) has created more chances in the Championship than Watford's Giorgi Chakvetadze (25). He created nine open play chances last time out against Charlton, only the third player on record (2013-14 onwards) to do so in a Championship game: the others are Pablo Hernández for Leeds vs Bolton in February 2019 (10) and Finn Azaz for Plymouth vs Watford in January 2024 (9).

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Watford are mourning the death of promotion-winning defender Brian Garvey who has passed away at the age of 88.

He was part of the Hornets side which won the Third Division title in the 1968-69 season and made 201 appearances, scoring two goals, in a five-year stay at Vicarage Road between 1965 and 1970.

Garvey started out at Hull City before joining Watford and finished his professional career at Colchester United where he helped the Essex club win the Watney Cup and famously beat Leeds United in the FA Cup in 1971.

"We were saddened to learn of the passing of our former defender Brian Garvey," Watford said in a post on X., external

"Our thoughts are with his family and friends."

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Watford boss Ed Still said poor defending by his injury-hit side was the reason for the 2-1 defeat against QPR at Loftus Road.

The Hornets were outplayed for large spells and only a late strike by Imran Louza brought any hope of salvaging a point.

"We've given ourselves too much to do in the last part of the game," Still told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We've not defended the box well enough and that's one of the things we have done really well and been consistent with.

"But we've not done it today for both goals - and another chance they had. We showed a lack of quality.

"Clearly when you have to shuffle your back four game-to-game it weakens your team. That is one of the big explaining factors as to why we have struggled to defend the box."

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Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559

Image source, Shutterstock

Watford expect to have full-back Jeremy Petris back for Friday's trip to Queens Park Rangers after missing three games with a dislocated shoulder.

Petris is still experiencing discomfort following the injury but head coach Ed Still believes that will not stop him being available at Loftus Road.

"He's back early," Still told the club website., external

"He should have been back at the end of next week but he has realised how many injured players there are and has said that he can play through the pain and manage it, as it's only a dislocated shoulder – so it's just for him to manage the pain."

Petris' likely return is good news for the Hornets with left-back Marc Bola rated a "big doubt" by Still.

"During last week's training he started to feel fatigue in the hip area, so there's a big question mark about him which puts a little bit of extra pressure on the full-back positions," he added.

Watford will assess James Abankwah, who suffered a dead leg while on duty with the Republic of Ireland, but Saba Goglichidze should also return after missing the last game against Leicester City.

Still's side are ninth on the Championship, seven points outside the top six with seven games remaining.

Image source, PA Media

Watford forward Nestory Irankunda scored twice as Australia beat Curacao 5-1 in their friendly in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old was introduced as a 67th-minute substitute by Socceroos boss Tony Popovic as the home side recovered from conceding an equaliser early in the second-half to run out comfortable winners.

Irankunda scored his double in the space of four minutes having also featured as a substitute in Australia's 1-0 win over Cameroon in Sydney last Friday.

He is set to be part of the Australia World Cup squad for this summer's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico and will now return to England for Watford's trip to QPR in the Championship on Friday (15:00 BST).

Watford boss Ed Still spoke to BBC Three Counties Radio after Saturday's goalless draw with Leicester City.

"I was trying to put my finger on it, what the emotions are, and frustrating is probably the word," he said.

"It's a funny feeling, because on one hand to have seen how the players got out there on the pitch, credit to them. The commitment and mental strength to get over the pain for a lot of them, credit to them.

"We will take the point, because on another day you could lose that game.

"I was convinced we could have that moment in the second half where we could force a winner, and then you see that it didn't quite fall for us.

"It was frustrating because you feel a little bit powerless in moments where you know the squad is what it is and the boys are pushing through pain."