Watford players fined £100 a minute if they are late for training

Watford manager Javi Gracia has introduced a new rule at the club which will see players fined £100 for every minute they are late for training.

Gracia, who has led Watford to four wins in their first four Premier League games, has taken control of how much the players are fined internally for any misdemeanours.

The Watford squad now face hefty penalties for a list of offences including being late.

“The players do the rules and the fines but this year the gaffer took charge of the fines,” Watford captain Troy Deeney has revealed.

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“Because some of the fines were very steep and some were quick ones that some people did not think were that bad. He made it so all the fines are very steep this year and no one is messing about.

“The worst one is £100 a minute for being late. That could be the M25 and you are sitting there for 35 minutes and it is clocking up very quickly!”

Deeney says Gracia has earned the respect of the Watford dressing room and explained how his methods have improved fitness and discipline.

“He has been great,” Deeney told the BBC. “The respect level has gone up from all the players. When he came in in January he sussed out we were not as fit as he wanted and were also leaking a lot of goals.

“He made us really tight and hard to break down. He got to the summer and went, ‘Right, this is what I need to make this team better’. He has changed the nutrition around the training ground, the gym stuff and the way we trained, like this week we had a double session.

“The running stats are immense for the teams. He keeps everybody on their toes but at the same time he is a nice guy. We work hard.”

Watford are level with Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the table and Deeney says their 2-1 win over Tottenham before the international break has given the players the belief that they can achieve something special this season.

“The biggest thing for us was the Spurs game, it really gave us belief this could really be something good,” he said. “Going a goal down we had to show a lot of resilience and the fitness levels were perfect. That is what the manager has wanted us to buy into.”

Watford face Manchester United at Vicarage Road on Saturday. Deeney said: “It is a free hit. Everybody has written us off. If we win, the headlines are going to be about Jose and why that United team are not as good compared to their great teams.”