When Troy Deeney returns to management, he’ll take inspiration from three of his former Watford bosses.
Deeney revealed on talkSPORT he is ‘desperate’ for a return to the dugout in the future having been out of a managerial role since departing Forest Green Rovers in January 2024.
The former Hornets skipper spent a month in charge of the club having initially joined on a player-coach basis but failed to win any of his six matches at the helm.
Despite having multiple offers since his exit, Deeney is ‘not trying to force’ himself into the picture for various vacancies.
Instead, he’s taking his time, watching plenty of football and visiting multiple clubs to learn about different ways of operating to ensure he’s as prepared as possible when the time comes.
Deeney will also be able to call on the knowledge gained from working under a whopping 15 managers during his 11-year stint at Vicarage Road.
Of those 15, one was Portuguese, two were Serbian, two were Scottish, two were English, three were Italian and four were Spanish – representing a rather diverse range of tactics and man-management styles.
But only a trio of his former bosses stood out for having qualities Deeney will look to take with him into the dugout, whenever and wherever that next role may be.
The first of which was Marco Silva, who is now steering the ship at Fulham and has the Cottagers sitting eighth in the Premier League.
Deeney holds Silva’s ‘ruthlessness’ and ‘attention to detail’ in high regard, even though the Portuguese boss spent just half a season with Watford before he was dismissed when rampant links to Everton coincided with an alarming dip in form.
Walter Mazzarri was another who left a mark on Deeney, even if the pair ‘did not get on one bit’.
The Italian, who had previously managed Napoli and Inter Milan, arrived with plenty of pedigree but could only steer Watford to a 17th-place finish during the 2016/17 campaign as they finished seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Despite the dismal season, Deeney still had high praise for Mazzarri.
“It’s fair to say he did not like me and I did not like him,” Deeney said.
“If you look at what we did there, tactically he’s the best I ever worked with.”
Deeney also had an appreciation for Chelsea and Premier League icon Gianfranco Zola, who was in charge at Watford for 75 matches – the longest stint of any Watford managers the former played under.
Zola’s first season at Vicarage Road coincided with Watford reaching the play-off final courtesy of the most iconic goal in Deeney’s career, as he scored a last-gasp winner against Leicester City in the semi-final.
Unfortunately Deeney’s play-off magic didn’t extend to the final as they lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace and Zola resigned midway through the 2013/14 season.
But Deeney remains fond of the atmosphere built by Zola within the club.
“The most fun I ever had was with Gianfranco Zola,” Deeney said.
Deeney added: “So there’s all these different pieces that you have to take from man-management to how do we think about nutrition, how do we keep people happy.”
A managerial role somewhere in England looms as the likely option given that is where Deeney and his family are based.
But when asked if he would consider a job abroad, Deeney replied: “Absolutely.”
The 36-year-old already has three dream locations in mind should he wish to venture beyond English shores.
“Spain and Portugal, because I think the love for the game is ridiculous out there,” Deeney said.
“And also Italy, for the tactical point of view and how they are in nutrition.
“I’ve worked with four or five of those types of managers anyway, so I have an insight into how they think and how they look at football. It’s really interesting.”
Time is certainly on Deeney’s side for a managerial return and, as he pointed out, doesn’t need to run at the first job he is offered.
But if and when he does return to the dugout, expect Deeney to be a markedly different manager from his brief stint at Forest Green Rovers.
