Tom Ince: Watford a fantastic club with expectation

New Watford signing Tom Ince looks ahead to the new EFL season, with promotion the aim for him and his new club.

And the 31-year-old forward is hoping his experience can help his new team in the Championship this season.

“I’m a bit more of an experienced pro now walking into the dressing room, which is nice!” he says, speaking at the EFL Season Launch.

“It’s nice to have another pre-season under my belt. When you start pre-season, the first game always seems so far away but I’m really excited to play that first game on Saturday and get the season going.”

Ince signed for Watford in June for an undisclosed fee, after spending the last 18 months at Reading.

“Watford showed interest in me and came in for me and they never stopped,” he continues. “As a player it’s nice that you’re wanted, I spoke to the manager several times, the owners and Director of Football were very keen to bring me in and that’s a nice feeling.

“This is a fantastic club. It’s a club with a lot of expectation on it, there’s a very good manager at the helm for this season and the history of Watford was a big factor in me signing as well.

“It’s got a great fanbase and of the last 10 or so seasons, seven of them have been in the Premier League, so it’s a club with expectation, a club that likes to be fighting at the top end of the table. Long may that continue and that’s exactly what the aim will be this year. Things are looking really positive.”

Ince also highlighted the appointment of Valerien Ismael as manager as one of his reasons for joining the club. The former Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion manager joined in May from Turkish side Besiktas.

“I’m really looking forward to working under him. Pre-season has been intense, but those are his principles and how he likes to play football. He’s got great experience in the Championship with previous spells at Barnsley and West Brom and I think Watford is the right club for him. As players, we’re all looking forward to working with him.”

Ince’s career began at Liverpool, before going on to have spells at Blackpool, Hull City, Derby County, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City, before joining Reading in 2022. He made 39 appearances for the Royals last season, scoring nine goals as they were relegated to League One.

Well versed in the Championship, Ince has made more than 360 second tier appearances. He admits this season will be “harder than it has been in a long time” but it is a challenge he is ready for.

“Looking at the Championship table this year, I do think it’ll be harder. It’s always intense and always interesting, but there are sometimes some surprises too.

“There are some big clubs that have come down and some big clubs that have come up from League One too, but we’re well in the mix of that and as a club and as players we know what the Championship entails, we know we have to start well and from within the club the expectation is there to do so.

“As players we have to accept that responsibility and with the quality we’ve got in the squad it’s on us to produce every weekend.”

The 2023/24 EFL campaign will kick off on Friday 4 August as Sheffield Wednesday take on Southampton live on Sky Sports at 20:00.

That will be followed by eight more Championship games on Saturday, as well as all of the 48 League One and League Two sides in action, and then three more second-tier matches on Sunday, which will be live on Sky Sports.

And if you want to keep across all the scores and stats of every EFL game, as well as look through all the upcoming fixtures, there is no better place than the EFL’s new Match Centre.